Katsina To Consider Anti Open Grazing Law, Says Masari

Katsina State Governor, Aminu Masari, has hinted that his administration is considering banning open grazing in the state.

Masari who spoke during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday, faulted the movement of herders from one part of the country to another.

He explained that before the state would create a law banning the open grazing of livestock, the government would make provisions to house the animals.

“We intend to have a law banning (cattle) roaming but before we do that, we would make provisions for where the animals would stay,” the governor said during the programme.

“Herdsmen should stay in one place. Roaming about should not be encouraged. In fact, for us, it is un-Islamic. Why do you have animals that you cannot feed and you have to go to other people’s land and farm and you say that is right? I don’t think it is right.”

He explained that as part of the efforts to kick start the ranching programme, the Federal Government disbursed N6.2 billion for the project.

Masari added, “We already have started. The Federal Government has given us N6.2 billion and as a state government, we are also investing N6.2 billion. The objective is to have Fulanis stay in one place.”

Masari’s comment comes four months after the Southern Governors Forum announced a ban on open grazing of cattle across states in the region.

The governors, after meeting in Asaba, the Delta State capital, asked President Buhari to address Nigerians on the state of the nation.

It also met months later and instructed states in the region to enact anti-open grazing laws in their domain to curb incessant clashes between herders and farmers.

Away from the farmers-herders crises, Governor Masari is also taking measures to combat crime in the North-West state which has had its fair share of banditry and kidnapping.

Last week, the governor introduced some measures – including banning sales of fuel in jerrycans – to combat criminality, a move Masari said, is already yielding results.

“We are not totally shutting all the filling stations. In local governments, we said two filling stations will operate and in those filling stations, nobody will sell fuel in jerrycans and gallons,” he added.

“There may be some hardship but it is better now to take the hardship now in order to restore normalcy. We have a list of some of these filling stations that are dispensing fuel in jerrycans.”

Channels TV