Federal Gazette Provides for Grazing Reserves: Fact or Fiction?

Since the Northern Governors Forum, the Southern Governors Forum, Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association and other stakeholders, seem to agree that open grazing is an anachronistic method, and ranching is a better approach to animal husbandry in today’s modern times, it has continued to baffle and confound many, the reason why the Presidency, despite Government’s National Livestock Transformation Plan, is still talking about Federal Gazette on grazing reserves and routes, claiming to have identified 300 of such reserves in 25 States of Nigeria. In this Discourse, Femi Falana, SAN and Dr Osagie Obayuwana insist that no such Gazette or nationwide grazing reserves exist, and see Government’s claim as an attempt to somehow try legitimise open grazing, a regressive move which should be rejected by all

Illegality of the Open Grazing Policy of the FG

Femi Falana, SAN

Background

On April 4, 2018, the National Economic Council reviewed the incessant violent clashes between herders and farmers, which had led to mindless killings and wanton destruction of properties in many parts of the country. Consequently, the members of the Council resolved to ban open grazing and adopt the Livestock Transformation Plan of the Federal Government. The 36 State Governors, Central Bank Governor and Minister of Finance, are all members of the National Economic Council which is chaired by the Vice President. Owing to the delay in the implementation of the policy of the Federal Government, the violent clashes between herders and farmers continued leading to incessant killing of farmers, rape of women and destruction of properties.

The disturbing development was reviewed by the Northern Governors Forum, in a meeting held on February 9, 2021. In the communique issued at the end of the meeting, it was expressly stated that: “The current system of herding mainly through open grazing is no longer sustainable, in view of growing urbanisation and population of the country.” Consequently, it resolved to sensitise herders on the need to adopt new methods of herding, either by ranching or other acceptable modern methods. It appealed to the Federal Government to support States with grants to directly undertake pilot projects of modern livestock production, that would serve as a springboard for the full implementation of new methods of livestock production.

Two days later, the Nigeria Governors Forum held a virtual meeting where the 36 State Governors unanimously rejected open grazing and adopted the National Livestock Transformation Plan of the Federal Government. On May 14, 2021, the Southern Governors Forum met in Asaba, Delta State and reiterated the plan to ban open grazing with effect from September 1, 2021. Curiously, the Presidency attacked the resolution of the Southern Governors Forum to ban open grazing. In dismissing the resolution of the Governors, the Presidency said that the proposed ban on open grazing “is of questionable legality, given the constitutional right of all Nigerians to enjoy the same rights and freedoms within every one of our 36 States (and FCT) – regardless of the State of their birth or residence.”

The position of the Presidency was faulted by many Lawyers who pointed out that the fundamental right of citizens, including herders to freedom of movement and right to settle in any part of Nigeria, do not extend to cattle and other animals.

Grazing Reserves and Routes in Nigeria

Regrettably, the confusion of the Federal Government was compounded, when President Buhari announced that he had given instructions to the Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr Abubakar Malami, SAN (AGF) to produce the Gazette on all grazing reserves and routes in the country. Even though it was pointed out that the 1965 Grazing Reserves Law was not of general application as it was only applicable in the former Northern Region, the Federal Government has announced that it has identified over 300 grazing reserves in 25 States. Since the Federal Gazette on grazing reserves and routes never existed, the AGF has not been able to produce it!

However, it is submitted without any fear of contradiction, that the Federal Government never acquired land for grazing routes and grazing reserves at any time, in the history of Nigeria. To that extent, it cannot reclaim what never belonged to it. It is on record that, the Government of the Northern region had grazing reserves in the 1960s. The assets of the Government of the Northern region have since been distributed among the 19 States in the Northeast, Northwest and Northcentral zones. The grazing reserves being identified by the Federal Government, are deemed to have been taken over by the respective States in the North. In other words, they are now owned by the State Governments under the Land Use Act. In any event, since the Federal Government has adopted the National Livestock Transformation Plan including ranching, the attempt to legitimise open grazing by the Presidency should not be allowed. More so, that the Northern Governors Forum, the Southern Governors Forum, Miyetti Allah and other stakeholders have kicked against open grazing, and adopted ranching for animal husbandry.

Indeed, based on the ban on open grazing, not less than 24 State Governments have submitted applications to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, for grants to facilitate the establishment of ranches in line with the Livestock Transformation Plan of the Federal Government. Meanwhile, Governor Umar Ganduje of Kano State has invited herders who are adversely affected by the ban on open grazing in other States, to move to the RUGA Settlement established by the State Government. While commissioning the first batch of 25 out of the 200 of the settlements, the Governor said that his Government engaged in the project for two fundamental reasons; “first and foremost is to avoid clashes between Farmers and Herders; secondly to avoid movement of Herders, which is the source of conflict and to avoid cattle rustling”.

On July 16, 2021, it was disclosed that President Muhammadu Buhari had approved the sum of N6.25 billion, for the immediate establishment of ranching in Katsina State. The disclosure was contained in a statement issued by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu in Abuja. In confirming the disclosure, Governor Aminu Bello Masari of Katsina State said that: “Mr. President has graciously approved the sum of N6.25 billion, for ranch development purposes in Katsina State. Part out of this amount, N5 billion, is already in the account of the State Government, and within a few weeks you will see advertisement calling for interested companies and consultants that will participate in construction”.

Ranching Funds and Surrounding Controversy

The implication of the special allocation of the sum of N6.25 billion to the Katsina State Government, is that President Buhari has adopted ranching to replace open grazing in line with the National Livestock Transformation Plan of the Federal Government. However, the President was embarrassed last week, when Governor Samuel Ortom criticised the special allocation to only Katsina State. Apparently embarrassed by the criticism, the Presidency claimed that the Ebonyi State Government has been given the sum of N6 billion for ranching. But, the Government of Ebonyi State has denied receiving any funds for ranching.

However, since what is good for the goose is good for the gander, we call on the President to approve the allocation of the same sum of N6.25 billion to every other State Government for ranch development purposes. This demand is in consonance Section 17(1) of the Constitution, which stipulates that the people of Nigeria shall have equality of rights, obligations and opportunities before the law.

Since the Northern Governors Forum and the Southern Governors Forum have rejected open grazing and adopted the National Livestock Transformation Plan of the Federal Government including ranching, the Alliance on Surviving Covid-19 and Beyond (ASCAB) has urged President Buhari to jettison the planned implementation of grazing reserves in any part of Nigeria.

Conclusion

It is time the attention of the Federal Government is drawn to the position of the law, to the effect that while the land in the Federal Capital Territory is vested in the President, the land in each State of the Federation is exclusively vested in the Governor of that State pursuant to the provisions of the Land Use Act, Cap. L5, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

In view of the foregoing, it is indisputable that the 36 State Governments have rejected open grazing and opted for ranching. Since the land in every State is vested in the Governor pursuant to the Land Use Act, and the Federal Government never acquired any land for grazing reserves before the enactment of the Land Use Act, it is submitted that open grazing cannot be enforced outside the Federal Capital Territory. To that extent, President Buhari ought to drop the planned implementation of open grazing in the country.

Femi Falana, SAN, Human Rights Lawyer and Activist; Recipient of the Bernard Simmons Award of the International Bar Association

Open Grazing Controversy: Why FG Must Rescind its Decision Now

Dr Osagie Obayuwana

Perhaps, nothing captures the attitude of the Buhari Presidency to governance in Nigeria today, more than its position on the issue of grazing reserves and grazing routes. The position symptomises a mindset, the anchor of which is insistence on a line of action, irrespective of public opinion and the law. One would have expected that, in view of the various articulations on the issue, particularly the illegality of it, Mr President and his team would proffer arguments in rebuttal of what has been argued to be a frontal challenge to the provisions of the Land Use Act, a piece of legislation that enjoys constitutional status. Is Mr President, by his silence, arguing that the Constitution does not confer powers of management of land use on the State Governors, with the exception of the Federal Capital Territory?

Gazettes: Do they Really Exist?

In the latest rare direct public statement on the issue, Mr President informed the nation that he has charged the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister for Justice(AGF) to, in his words, “dig up and fish out Gazettes on the subject-matter, dating back to 1963”. To date, neither the AGF nor the Presidency has formally presented the Gazettes and their contents to the nation. Rather, what Mr Garba Shehu, the Presidential Spokesman has as recently as 19th August, 2021, said through a Press Statement to the nation, is that the President has “approved the review of 368 Grazing Reserves in 25 States across the Country”. Up till this moment, the Gazettes are not a matter of public knowledge, and the location of the reserves and the States where they are, remain a matter of mystery. As of Friday August 27th, 2021, Officials of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture pointedly refused to disclose the States.

Mr President is said to have based his Order on the recommendation of a Committee, the existence of which before now has not been formally declared, but said to be chaired by Professor Ibrahim Gambari, the Chief of Staff to the President. This so-called approval of the Committee’s recommendation, clearly signifies a commitment to self service and disdain for popular opinion, and no room for public input. What the Committee’s Main Report looks like, based on which it made recommendations now said to have been accepted by Mr President, rather than being in the public realm, is all shrouded in mystery.

This leaves the entire country to continue to wonder whether indeed, there are Gazettes that provide for grazing routes and reserves. Is it not true that those Gazettes, if they exist, are subsidiary instruments to regional laws which are clearly inferior to the Constitution, and by implication, overtaken by the Land Use Act? Curiously, among the terms of reference of this select Committee, is for the Committee “to gazette grazing routes and reserves that have not been gazetted”. One has to wonder what the authority and legal basis is for a Presidential Committee to gazette grazing reserves and routes that, before now, had not been in existence. Can a Presidential directive be sufficient authority for this? Interestingly, the same Committee has been saddled with the task of creating a ‘data base of national cattle herders, a census of sorts, of cow owners in Nigeria. This connotes preparation for the allocation, presumably by Mr President, of the grazing routes and reserves, once identified by the Committee.

The question is, why does Mr President feel he can present the country with a fait accompli on this matter and get away with it?Furthermore, what is the altruistic interest of the Federal Government, and in particular, the Presidency, in the issue?

The Plight of the Herders

Cattle rearing has been recognised to be a private business, just like fish farming, poultry, snailery or piggery. As a profitable venture, there are business expenses that go with cattle rearing, like for the others; and these expenses include feeding of the cows, and attending to their medical needs. It has also come out clearly in the debates, that generally, the Herders do not own the cows; the millionaires who do, live in the comfort of their air-conditioned opulent homes with their children, who are given the opportunities to feed and clothe well, and receive the best education and healthcare. Thus, the Herders are no more than workers, whose entire lives are tied to tending the cows from birth to sale, as a product. There are no work hours, and no defined periodic pay cheques. They are denied of the right to found a family for the most part, and therefore, do not enjoy the consort of a marriage partner. Little wonder the pervasiveness of rape of farmers wives and daughters as they roam with their herds of cattle for months and years without female companions. Only this also, explains pictures and videos showing some of them mating with the cows.

Is there a Conflict of Interest?

The question that remains is, whose interest in the final analysis, is the Presidency seeking to protect, that of the impoverished herdsmen or those of the millionaires who own the cows? How does Mr President extricate himself from the charge of a conflict of interest in this matter, given his widely known status as an owner of a large herd of cattle?

Many have accused the President of encouraging the belief on the part of Fulanis, not only in Nigeria but in the West and Central African regions, that Nigeria belongs to them; that the time to take Nigeria over irrespective of all opposition, even through military might, is now, that President Buhari, one of their own, is the President of Nigeria.

One would have expected General Buhari to have frontally addressed this issue, dispel the misconceptions of his fellow Fulanis and allay the fears of those who are non-Fulanis who are targeted, and who in fact, have suffered uncountable loss of lives and property for years now, under the Buhari Presidency. It will be recalled that the RUGA proposal as championed by the Federal Government under President Buhari, was roundly rejected as a pretext for planting Fulani settlements in all Local Governments of Nigeria, particularly in the South where these have not been. Those who argue that the Fulanis enjoy the constitutional right to live and carry out their business in any part of the country, choose not to respond to the counter-argument that freedom of movement and right of residence does not justify exclusive usurpation of land holdings for exclusive occupation by a group, effected by Presidential fiat and at public expense.

It is generally known that the National Livestock Transformation Plan is one that virtually all the State Governors of the Federation have bought into, whereby in a 10 year period (2019-2028) through the instrumentality of ranching, the mode of cattle rearing in particular, would have been changed. Mr President has failed to address the nation, on how his insistence on grazing routes relates to the Transformation Plan, or is it that the Presidency has jettisoned the Livestock Transformation Plan? If, as it is reported, that Mr President has released the sum of N6.5 billion to Katsina State, which by the way is not one of the pilot States for the purpose of ranching, one would have thought that the focus of the Presidency now should be on how to treat all other States equally, and allow the implementation of the plan following due appropriation and budgeting, instead of propping up the ghost of grazing routes.

Routes are known to originate from one point, and destined for another. This suggests that the movement of the cows to different parts of the country is for a purpose, which is, supply of cow meat to the intended markets. In the light of reports in the past, of people out of protest organising to boycott cow meat, does this not envisage the need for existence of a mutually beneficial relationship based on concord? Can Mr President use his fiat to compel the people of Nigeria to patronise, and live in peace with sellers of cow meat who have ruined their livelihoods?

It seems to me that Mr President hopes to ride roughshod over public opinion and opposition by his insistence on grazing routes, without the use of sound reasoning, logic and the tool of persuasion. This only fuels the suspicion of an ulterior motive, and a hidden agenda.

What Mr President Should and Should Not Do

Mr President needs to appreciate that, by his reliance on Presidential powers to foster sectional interests, which are subject to legal and political challenges, he is damaging inter-ethnic relations in Nigeria, and creating problems that will outlive his Government and himself. He needs to know now, that the wounds already inflicted which he unfortunately proposes to continue to inflict, by conferring unearned and undeserved privileges on the foundation of nepotism, will leave scars that will define the relationship between the Fulani and the rest of Nigerians for a long time to come. Successive Governments after him, will have to contend with this.

The Presidency needs to appreciate that those telling President Buhari to have a rethink, are patriots concerned about the present and future of Nigeria.

The Buhari administration is touted to have done very well, in the development of the railway network in Nigeria. One has to wonder whether Mr President has given a thought to movement of cows by rail? Whether of live cows, or slaughtered cows in refrigerated coaches.

Obviously many Fulanis believe that their time is now, to maximise what they can get out Nigeria, and that they are getting desperate that time is running out.

Nobody else bears the task more than President Buhari himself, to let the Fulanis know that he is the President not just for Fulanis, but for all persons in Nigeria. He needs to reassure the Fulanis and all Nigerians, that the new Nigeria in the process of being born is one in which no persons, irrespective of ethnicity and religious belief, will have any special favours or privileges which all the people will not enjoy. Failure to publicly discharge this duty, will be the ultimate failure that President Buhari fears would mark his years as President.

President Buhari and his supporters need to appreciate that Article 3 of the ECOWAS Protocols on Free Movement of Persons and Goods, is not intended to provide a free passage for armed robbers, kidnappers and bandits from the West African and Central African sub-region, as their heinous crimes does a grave injustice to the lofty ideals of ECOWAS and the African Union, for the oneness of African People, and the urgent need for social and economic integration.
Dr Osagie Obayuwana, former Attorney-General of Edo State; National President, Committee for Defence of Human Rights (CDHR)