Ohaneze Youth Wing Supports National Assembly Ban On Open Grazing
The Youth wing of Ohaneze Ndigbo Worldwide has thrown its weight behind the National Assembly for allowing the bill for an Act to ban open grazing and establish ranches scale second reading.
The bill scaled second reading after a heated debate among members of the Senate, earlier in the week.
The bill will serve as an antidote for clashes between farmers and herders.
Speaking to newsmen recently on the development, the Acting National Youth Leader of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Mr Chukwuma Okpalaezeukwu, commended the Senate for ensuring that the Bill scaled second reading.
Okpalaezeukwu described the debate that ensued at the floor of the Senate, as characteristics of democracy, where people are allowed to air their views.
He described farmers/herder’s clashes as recurring decimal which has claimed many lives, destroyed property, and affected the Nigerian economy.
According to him, ranches must be established to confine the animals as well as control and manage the incessant and unnecessary farmers/herder’s crisis.
He further maintained that the only way to curb the menace is by establishing ranches as open grazing cause unnecessary friction between farmers and herders, leading to loss of lives, destruction of property, food insecurity leading to hunger and its toll on the economy.
According to Mr Okpalaezeukwu, the basic responsibility of any government is to protect lives and property of its citizens which open grazing negates.
Moreover, the Ohaneze National Youth leader disclosed that he is in touch with the leader of the Miyetti Allah in the Southeast who told him that the killer herdsmen are not part of them, and that the killer herders are also endangering the lives of genuine herders.
While noting that rearing of cow is not an ethnic phenomenon, Mr Okpalaezeukwu however, said that it has become a matter of national security and not something to be sentimental about as there are many countries that produce more cows and do other dairy businesses than Nigeria, but they do not encounter crisis, because they do not engage in open grazing.
He urged Nigerians to consider ranching as a viable option at this critical time.
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