Rivers, Imo,
S’Kaduna reject cattle colonies
Barely 48
hours after the farm of former Secretary to the Government of the Federation
(SGF), Chief Olu Falae, was set ablaze by suspected herdsmen, elders of Akure
Kingdom in Ondo State have warned that next attack would result in internecine
war. The elders also advised the nomads to desist from attacking other farmers
in the area to avoid tribal clashes between them and the indigenes.
They also
urged security agencies in the state to be up and doing to avert
self-help.Addressing reporters yesterday in Akure, the Asiwaju of Akureland,
Prof. Olu Agbi, lamented the rate of attacks on farms in the state.
Agbi, who is
also one-time Nigeria’s Ambassador to Greece and Australia, said there was need
for the Federal Government to be proactive about the activities of the herders
before it degenerates to a full-blown ethnic crisis.His words: “Since his
(Falae) release and the conviction of the suspects, the farm of the senior
citizen has been subject of attack by herdsmen. Apart from the killing of
people in his farm, neighbouring farms have also been attacked by these
gun-wielding herdsmen.
“The recent
burning of Chief Falae’s plantation by these same elements calls for worry. We
call on the security agencies to protect the life and property of the elder
statesman.”
The elders
also kicked against the cattle colony proposal of the government, stressing
that there was no land in the kingdom for the policy.In the same vein, the
Rivers and Imo governments as well as the people of Southern Kaduna have
expressed their opposition to the policy.
Pledging to
ward off all external forces, Governor Nyesom Wike declared that there was no
land for cattle colonies in Rivers State.He expressed his reservations
yesterday when the D-Source Connect Group, led by Mr. Dike Vincent Amadi, paid
him a courtesy visit at the Government House, Port Harcourt.
In a
statement yesterday in Owerri by the Commissioner for Information, Prof. Nnamdi
Obiareri, the Imo government denied having plans to cede any land for the
project. He described the rumour as wicked and mischievous.The statement
clarified that there was an existing cattle market in Okigwe, adding: ”There is
no law, policy, decision, plan, request or intention to cede, allocate or
designate any part of Imo as a cattle colony.”
According to
the senator representing Kaduna South in the National Assembly, Danjuma La’ah,
the people of the southern district have no land for the policy, maintaining
that their property was strictly for growth and development purposes.In a
statement, the lawmaker stated the people’s land could no longer be used for
exclusive economic benefit of a group of people, as the herdsmen are rich
enough to legally acquire property for ranching.
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