SANWO-OLU AND BAN ON OPEN GRAZING

The ban on open grazing of cattle in Lagos is in order, writes Uche Nnabugu

The threats were surreal and potentially endangered the entire Southern region. It was a classical case of anarchy from agents of death. The herder/farmer conflict that dates back to decades took a frightening dimension as criminal herders in collaboration with suspected external aggressors turned the entire southern part of Nigeria into a killing field.

The north central state of Benue was the worst hit. Suspected herders killed over 70 people before dawn. The carnage raised outcry and eminent figures including traditional rulers protested to the Villa for President Muhammadu Buhari to act as the Commander-In-Chief.

The crisis continued unabated and the body language of the Presidency appears lethargic. The distraught people of Benue were reportedly told to make peace with their killer guests who were bent on usurping their ancestral lands for cattle. Presidency spokesmen also stoke fire with incendiary and insensitive comments that aggravated the situation.

The cattle breeders under the auspices of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) grew bolder and almost became law until itself. The body seems to be an annex of the presidency as their thoughts coalesced on either recovery of pre-independence grazing routes, RUGA, cattle colonies and other pro-herder initiatives conceived by the federal government.

The continued murderous activities of criminal herders gave opportunity for ethnic defenders like Sunday Adeyemo better known as Sunday Ighoho and the IPOB’s inspired Eastern Security Network to get popular. The campaigns of ethnic militias resonated with the people in the South who were faced with existential threats and the unwillingness of the federal government to crush the criminals.

In the South West, Amotekun, a local security and intelligence gathering outfit was promulgated. Ditto for Ebube Agu in the South East. All this was to ensure a multi-layer security system that would guarantee safety of lives and property.

Consensus of security intelligence clearly indicated that open grazing ban will substantially curb the rising insecurity. So, aside from the local security outfits, they reasoned that laws banning the archaic nomadic practice will stem the ugly tide.

In May, 2021, 17 southern governors converged on Asaba, the Delta State capital where they made popular the Asaba Declaration banning open grazing in the region. Many sneered that the declaration could not stand.

In July, the governors were hosted in Lagos by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu. The demands and resolutions of the Asaba meeting were reiterated. Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, chairman of the Southern Governors’ Forum and others quickly acted on the declaration. The ban is already operational in many of the states. Others are working on theirs.

Meanwhile, a renewed lease of life came with the signing into law a bill prohibiting open grazing in Lagos by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, despite the threats of Miyetti Allah and its minders during the public hearing on the Prohibition of Open Cattle Grazing Bill, 2021.

The Secretary, Zonal South West, Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), Mai-Kudu Usman, had said that banning open cattle grazing may give rise to tension and cost of cows in Lagos State. “We can’t rear our cattle in one place, because what the cattle will eat and consume will be very expensive if I can’t move them around. I can assure you that if we are made to graze in a secluded area, the cost of breeding a cow will be very high and the cost of one cow will be nothing less than N2 million. There is so much attachment between herders and herds to the extent that any inconveniences on the herds is considered as inconveniences on herders and by doing so this will be resisted vehemently. Passing anti-open cattle grazing into law can create tension in the state because of the inconveniences it would bring along with it,” he said.

The blackmail and threats could not deter the Lagos State governor. He is bold and courageous. He is a trusted southern ally. The promulgated law is yet another bold statement on the need to ensure true federalism. The federating units should have powers over their lands and its appurtenances. The federal government can’t force a section and its lifestyle on the people against their will.

Like every other business, cattle breeders should operate within the limits of the law and respect the livelihoods of others, especially farmers. The required necessities for business operations are entirely businesses owners’ concern.

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s bold decision on open grazing is a clear statement on the need for federating units to have control over their territories and affairs. This also falls within ongoing needless tussle between the overbearing federal government and the states on Value Added Tax.

Lagos, a bastion of true federalism and democracy, has always taken the lead in testing the constitutionality of military unitary system vestiges. The builder of modern Lagos, former Governor Asiwaju Bola Tinubu dared the then federal government under Chief Olusegun Obasanjo on Local Council Development Areas creation.

The state survived the vicious onslaught of the Owu and local government allocations that were withheld by the federal government, and eventually released to Lagos under the leadership of Babatunde Fashola. The state has always dared to challenge the status in the interest of true federalism.

The same audacious feat has been recorded under Sanwo-Olu with the signing of the VAT bill into law. The law titled, “Lagos State Value Added Tax Law: A Bill for a Law to Impose and Charge Value Added Tax On Certain Goods And Services, Provide for the Administration of the Tax and for Related Matters,” empowers the state to charge VAT at the rate of six per cent on the value of goods and services in the state.

Rather than labouring for others to reap, Lagos will be in charge of its destiny. The aberration of Federal Inland Revenue Service raking billions in consumption tax and remitting a paltry rebate is gone for good.

The campaign for special status for Lagos which is muzzled by the federal might can be achieved through a true fiscal federalism. The thrust of the campaign is for Abuja to free more funds to Lagos to cushion impact on infrastructure.

Governor Sanwo-Olu has done well. He stood by the will of the people.

Nnabugu wrote from Lagos