Kaduna Fed. lawmakers vow to resist land acquisition for grazing reserves

Necessary security measures must be put in place to avoid ethnic and religious crises in Kaduna State as concerned Federal lawmakers kicked against the proposed establishment of grazing reserves in the Southern region of the state.

National Assembly lawmakers under the aegis of Southern Kaduna people have kicked against moves by Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State to establish grazing reserves in the zone considering the adverse effects on the citizenry.

Southern Kaduna is comprises of 8 Local Government Areas (LGAs) namely: Zango Kataf; Kaura; Zanga; Kaduna South; Kagarko; Jaba; Jamaa and Chukun, and dominated by Christians who are majorly farmers.

The aggrieved lawmakers who converged at the National Assembly complex, Abuja, specifically queried Governor el-Rufai’s unilateral decision on the donation of 5,000 hectares of land across the state.

The National Assembly caucus led by Senator Danjuma La’ah spoke on behalf of the National Assembly caucus at a press briefing held at the National Assembly complex, Abuja.

Other members of the House of Representatives representing the Southern Kaduna are: Hon. Shehu Nicholas Garba, Hon. Simon Arabo and Hon. Sunday Marshal Katung gave this position at a pressing briefing in Abuja said the grazing reserves policy was ill-advised and would only exacerbate already existing mutual suspicion between the communities and herdsmen.

“We remember vividly when the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Audu Ogbeh, stated on March 2, 2016, that the Federal Government is about to start creating grazing reserves across the country, as a panacea to the frequent clashes between herdsmen and farmers.

“This was followed by an announcement that 11 States have donated 55,000 hectares of land for the scheme and Kaduna was said to have donated 5,000 hectares. While this is going on, the Kaduna State Government unilaterally decided to revisit 17 grazing reserves across the state, claiming to be targeting the added goal of turning them into commercial pasture hubs.

“The so-called 17 grazing reserves no longer exist in reality as when they were created since many individuals now have settlements and farmlands on them. Also since the State Government has kept silent on the ‘donated’ 5,000 hectares to the National grazing reserves scheme of the Federal Government, unlike some State Governments, we are left to interpret it as an affirmation,” the lawmakers said.

According to the lawmakers, some communities under Sanga and Jema’a Local Government areas in the zone were raised down about two weeks ago, while about 100 people were reportedly killed in the attacks.

The lawmakers maintained that allocating a permanent abode to herdsmen who had stabbed their people in the back was akin to giving an official seal to them to perpetuate their morbid disregard for the sanctity of lives, stressing that their fears were definitely unfounded.

“We, the representatives of the people disapprove of any attempt to create or carve out lands in our communities for the purpose of grazing reserves under the present circumstances.

“The creation of grazing reserves under any guise within agrarian communities will only serve to exacerbate the already existing mutual suspicion between the communities and herdsmen who are major beneficiaries of the action.

“We view this as both an ill-advised move that flies in the face of developmental strategy of the 21st century and the overriding public interest of our people.”

The lawmakers lamented that over 95 percent of all federal institutions in the state were located in the Northern zone of the state, adding that the zone had about 40 institutions without the government considering the Southern Kaduna.

Alleging that silent killings were going on in the zone on daily basis, they said: “It is curious to note that the zone is only considered by Kaduna State a Government as suitable for hosting gazing reserves but not suitable for the siting of either Federal Health or Academic Institutions.

“For example, despite the heavy lopsided concentration of federal agencies and institutions in the Northern part of the state, the proposed Federal a medical Centre and Federal University of Technology are to be sited in the same Northern part of the state.

“We are also aware that Kaduna State is one of the states that have not responded to the Federal Government’s request for land for the construction of mass housing estates at the state and local government headquarters, yet it has considered the issue of grazing reserves of utmost importance.

“As the representatives of our people who are currently soaked in the heated disapproval of our constituents on this issue, we categorically say no to grazing reserves in Southern Kaduna.

“We view this action as insensitivity by the state government which seems to be fixated with the presumed benefits of the grazing reserves but indifferent to the consequences of a weird marriage between farmers and herdsmen that has always given birth to human agonies.

“The scars of years of rampage through our lands by suspected herdsmen have left human casualties strewn all over the place.”

They stated that over 100 people were killed in Bodong community of the area and that it has remained a daily occurrence.