From Jude Owuamanam,
Managing Editor, Northern Operations
The Director-General,
Plateau Peace Building Agency, Mr. Joseph Lengmang, has said that the
state might not be in a haste to enact a law on cattle grazing in the state.
He said that this is
because “the law is a double-edged sword that has the potential to save and
also destroy.”
Rather, he said,
“I would argue that the establishment of ranches should come first before a
prohibition of transhumant pastoralism in Plateau state.”
In his view on the
anti-grazing law recently enacted by the Benue State government, Lengmang,
said, “Whether the ban on open grazing will resolve the long standing issue
between farming communities and herders in Benue State remains an open
question. But it would be very interesting to see, at least in practical terms
how the enactment and enforcement of this law is expected to end the attacks
and sacking of sleepy farming communities across Benue state.”
His views are
contained in a paper entitled “REVISITING THE RANCHING POLICY PROPOSAL OF THE
PLATEAU STATE GOVERNMENT: SITUATING EMERGING ISSUES IN CONTEXT.”
Lenmang, whose
views may run contrary to those canvassed by a cross section of youths in the
state, said, “Recently, the Benue State Government passed the Open
Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law 2017 amidst jubilation by
supporters of the policy (mostly indigenous people) in the one hand, and
trepidation by opponents (mostly Fulani herdsmen) in the other.
My take on the law is
that it is a double-edged sword that has the potential to save and also
destroy. Before I explain, let me first provide a little context on how the
whole trajectory of the knee jerk reaction to the problem between Fulani
herdsmen and farmers has merely crystallised into an emotive ethno-religious
and political discourse.
“It is very strange
that our approach to a problem of this nature and magnitude is averse to the
intellectual and analytical rigour deserving of such thought processes. This is
not encouraging!
“I remember when the
Plateau State Government wanted to key into the ranching policy proposal of the
Federal Ministry of Agriculture, the reaction from some of our people was torn
between apprehension and mass hysteria.
“The critical
opprobrium that the ranching debate generated left no one in doubt as to the
deep-seated level of mutual suspicion and distrust that characterise the
relationship between Fulani herdsmen and indigenous farming communities in
Plateau State. Broadly speaking, it also reveals the conundrum underlying the
unanswered question of who is an “indigene” as opposed to a “settler” with
respect to citizen’ rights in Nigeria.
“The former and the
latter are both a cause and effect of a bitter historical experience that
stretched over decades of ethno-religious tension, violence and crass
subterfuge.
“Few people would
accept the fact that the idea to introduce the ranch system was informed by a
certain economic and security imperative which was part of a broader policy of
the Federal Government to diversify the economy and also arrest the near
chaotic security situation it inherited from the previous administration.
“We argued at the top
of our voices that agriculture is one key sector where our state has
comparative advantage. We reasoned that beyond the goal of boosting the
potential of this particular sector also is a need to think strategically by
focusing on ways we can effectively modernise the process of livestock
production as opposed to the traditional method-transhumant pastoralism or open
grazing.
“On the security
exigencies underlying the proposal is of course the growing tension between
indigenous farmers and herdsmen.
“Attack and reprisal
attacks by these two groups have not only become a persistent plight of the
people but have overtime destroyed the very social fabric of our society as
well as jeopardised national security like no other. This worrying trend has
undoubtedly foisted a particular kind of a peace and security challenge to the
Federal Government in general and to our state in particular.
“Unsurprisingly,
the opinion that gained traction in the heat of the debate was an accusation
that the Plateau State Government was only looking to formalise land tenure
rights for an ‘alien minority.’ Some went further to suggest that the ranching
pilot scheme was nothing but a subterranean ploy by the Lalong administration
to confiscate land belonging to indigenous communities only to appropriate same
to pastoralists for whatever ridiculous political reasons.
“And even more
interesting was the forceful ‘Jihadist expansionist’ conspiracy theory embedded
in the conversation.
“It would seem that an
innocent policy idea meant to, among other things, transform a growing security
problem between sedentary farmers and herdsmen is misconstrued and misinterpreted.
“Very few people
actually took a close look at the proposal based on its merit. Many would
rather see it as part of that clandestine move to complete an unfinished
Islamic conquest of lands in a region that once defied the military genius of
Othman Dan Fodio, the divinely inspired Islamic reformer of the 19th Century.
“Government’s good
intention was mischievously interpreted to align and feed into that dangerous
narrative.
“It is neither the
purpose of this disquisition to give life to the Jihadist conspiracy theory nor
discredit it. For I have grown over-time learning never to believe everything
that I hear but at the same time, never to take anything I hear for granted.
“My training and
exposure have taught me to question social reality in a way that isolates my
raw emotions from the interrogation process. Emotions have a way of beclouding
our sense of judgment, narrowing our focus of attention, and distracting us
from pursuing substantive goals.
“We didn’t make much
headway on the debate of whether to key into the ranching policy or not. We had
a number of multilevel consultative dialogues with the youth, traditional and
religious leaders, representatives of both state and national assemblies, CSOs
and host of others where government tried to explain in black and white the
rationale and benefits of the ranching pilot scheme as a response to a certain
complex socio-economic and security reality.
“While there was
relative demonstration of goodwill and understanding on the parts of
stakeholders that attended the meetings, in a generic sense however, it was
also very obvious that either our explanation did not satisfy the usually
skeptical minds of our people or they chose not to understand at the material
time.
“We were busy
occupied with making sense of the conspiracy theory as it aligns with our
emotions and historical experiences rather than taking a hard and scientific
look at the problem. It would seem that very little or no effort was put into
establishing and analysing the profile of the actors involved in the conflict –
this is crucial; their individual or group interests and; the need to carefully
explore preferences for transformation.
“Given the nature of
the problem we face and the overreaching implications it has for the kind of
future we want to bequeath to our children, the underlying objective of this
discourse is to draw our attention on the need to think, plan and act
strategically. We should reason in a way that enables us redeem the times
rather than merely acting on emotional and political impulse.
“I hope you would be
kind and patient enough to follow me through this somewhat long series of
discourse where I shall try to explain the complex nature of the problem
between farming communities and Fulani herdsmen and also to offer insights on
how the ranching system can help mitigate this growing threat to peace and
security.
“I would argue that
the establishment of ranches should come first before a prohibition of
transhumant pastoralism in Plateau State,” he said.
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