The issue of ranching which is the modern day approach to animal farming has been rejected by Fulani herdsmen due to certain reasons.
File Photo
The Fulani in Nigeria have said they will not accept cattle ranching because the country’s geographical location was not suitable for it.
Besides, the Fulani said the species of cows they had, as subsistence livestock farmers, were not good for ranching in the country, saying they could only be confined to ranching if their livestock were replaced with breeds suitable for it.
According to them, the laws are being used as campaigns by some people to win votes in 2019 elections.
Addressing newsmen, yesterday, in Abuja, through their socio-cultural association under the aegis of Miyetti-Allah Kautal Hore, the Fulani insisted that events in history showed that ranching was not practicable in Nigeria and to this end, urged the Federal Government to immediately stop state governments from enacting anti-open grazing laws.
Alhassan insisted that Benue State government breached the constitution by stopping open grazing, given that the River Benue Basin, its tributaries and lakes were under the control of the federal government.
“Again, very fundamentally,the River Benue and the tributaries and also the international routes and roads that pass through Benue don’t belong to Benue State Government, they belong to the Federal Government. Benue State Government has no jurisdiction over River Benue, its tributaries, the lakes, the river basins, they are all federal government’s. So how do you now start to legislate to say ‘you are going to stop access to those natural resources?’
“Between January and and early May,is when pastoralists move to the river basins because that is the peak of dry season and most of the rivers pastoralists use to water their animals dried up and they now move towards the River Benue.