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OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE GOVERNOR
PLATEAU STATE.
NATIONAL LIVESTOCK TRANSFORMATION PLAN (NLTP)
PLATEAU STATE LIVESTOCK TRANSFORMATION OFFICE (SLTO) STEERING COMMITTEE
No.1 Fom Davou Close, Zarmaganda Road,
Rayfield, Jos, Plateau State.
Date: February 8th 2022.PRESS RELEASE
REJOINDER TO PRESS CONFERENCE/RELEASE AND OTHER MATTERS ON
THE STANCE OF MIYETTI ALLAH CATTLE BREEDERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (MACBAN) PLATEAU STATE CHAPTER REGARDING THE BILL “A BILL FOR A LAW TO ESTABLSH THE PLATEAU STATE LIVESTOCK TRANSFORMATION PROGRAMME (SLTP) AND FOR OTHER MATTERS CONNECTED, 2020.”
We refer to the submission of “Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, MACBAN,” Plateau State Chapter, on the above subject matter, dated 31st January 2022 addressed to the Speaker, Plateau State House of Assembly, through the Chairman, Public Hearing on the Bill and also widely circulated in the public domain as Press Release. We also refer to an earlier letter by same MACBAN to His Excellency, dated 27th October 2021 on the above subject matter of “Complaint Against A Bill Seeking For The Ban Of Open Grazing In The Name Of Plateau State Livestock Transformation Plan (SLTP).”
- Having perused the documents, carried out background checks on the issues at stake, we wish to submit, for the records and clarity as follows:
A) THE Ist LETTER
(i) The first letter of complaint dated 27th October 2021 was jointly signed by one Muhammad Nuru Abdullahi (Chairman, MACBAN, Plateau State Chapter) and Barr. Salisu Isa Muhammad (Legal Adviser, MACBAN, Plateau State Chapter).
(ii) In the letter, they averred receiving a “Politically motivated bill,” titled “A Law to Establish the Plateau State Livestock Transformation Plan (SLTP) And For Other Matters Connected, 2020,” without indicating their source.
(iii) They further averred that while the Bill had not clearly stated the Sponsor(s) and is before the Plateau State House of Assembly for enactment, the document sought for “a law banning open grazing in the entire State,” with the aim of expelling Fulani and their long ancestral heritage and culture from the State.
(iv) Furthermore, they vehemently concluded and condemned what they described as “outright violation and abuse of Constitutional Human Rights,” in terms of right to “live in any part of the country of their choice and embark on any lawful business of their choice without any let, hindrance, restriction or molestation,” among other things.
(v) Quoted PARTS & CLAUSES that are only related to penalties for violations, rather than those of common good.
(vi) In the light of their assertions above, the Complainants perceived the contents of the bill as obnoxious and a grand design to displace them, which are inimical to peaceful co-existence. They therefore appealed to His Excellency, the Executive Governor to prevail on the “unknown” sponsors of the bill to withdraw it to avoid confusion.
B) THE 2nd LETTER AND PRESS RELEASE
(i) The second letter and Press Release, dated 31st January 2022 was again jointly signed by one Muhammad Nuru Abdullahi (Chairman, MACBAN, Plateau State Chapter) and Barr. Salisu Isa Muhammad (Legal Adviser, MACBAN, Plateau State Chapter).
(ii) In the letter, they averred among other things that Ranching is alien to them, capital-intensive and unaffordable; incompatibility of livestock breed in relation to vulnerability to diseases, slow production, growth and development.
(iii) Repeatedly quoted PARTS & CLAUSES related to issuance and procedure for ranching permits to individuals or communities, offences and penalties for violations, establishment of Staff, Ranch Administration an Corps Marshal, etc.
(iv) Above all, they feel the bill will jeopardize the nascent peace enjoyed on the Plateau because of the misconception a lot of Fulani herders and general public have on it.
- OBSERVATIONS.
The contents of the letters and or Press Release appeared to be full of innuendos and contradictions, which should be of concern to the Government, Legislature and general public in the smooth implementation of its policies and programmes on peace, security and harmonious co-existence, infrastructure development and sustainable economic re-birth. From the submissions, the following observations are apt:
a) the signatories, particularly the State Chairman, Muhammad Nuru Abubakar has been a stakeholder, part and parcel in contributing to this administration’s policy directives in the implementation of the widely accepted and adopted Ranching Programme;
b) that the Bill had not clearly stated the Sponsor(s) yet it was accepted and before the Plateau State House of Assembly for enactment appear sarcastic;
c) At different fora, which included one hosted by the Humanitarian Dialogue on 26th – 27th October 2021 at Crispan Suites and Event Center, Rayfield, Jos on the theme: “Roundtable for the Implementation of Peace Agreements and Relevant White Papers in Plateau State” and the latest, Public Hearing on the SLTP Bill on Wednesday, 26th January 2022 the MACBAN Chairman portrayed ignorance and displayed sarcasm on neither being carried along on the Ranching issues nor ever knew anything about the Bill. In all these instances, we were aware that an Executive Bill was submitted to the House of Assembly, titled “A Bill For A Law To Establish The Plateau State Livestock Transformation Programme (SLTP) And For Other Matters Connected, 2020,” bearing exactly the same title quoted by the Complainants.
d) In the 1st and 2nd letters/Press Release, some contents of the Bill have been extensively quoted as they suit the Complainants, e.g., PART II, clause 3 (iii – iv); PART V clause 61 (1,2,5,6,7(a &b). These PARTS & CLAUSES quoted are those related to penalties for violations, while the good and beneficial parts that constitute the entire spirit of the Bill are ignored. Ironically, all the purported Parts and Clauses that are of interest and concern to the Complainants were lifted, verbatim from the Executive Bill purported to be unauthored, as indicated below:
(i) PART II (PURPOSE AND SCOPE OF APPLICATION), CLAUSE 3: The Complainants quoted Clauses 3(iii) & (viii), which prohibit open rearing and grazing, trespassing and nuisance with attendant penalties as unfavourable to them; yet ignored seven (7) other Clauses, viz: (i), (ii), (iv), (v), (vi), (vii), and (viii) that are for common good and economic benefits in terms of promoting mutual co-existence, environmental protection and husbandry.
(ii) PART V (OFFENCE AND PENALTIES; PROHIBITION OF OPEN GRAZING AND CATTLE RUSTLING), CLAUSE 61: The Complainants had earlier quoted Clauses (1), (2), (5), 6), and (7) that deal with need to observe Ranching, not allowing animals wander outside designated ranching area, impoundment and rustling with attendant penalties; yet they ignored ten (10) other Clauses in the Bill, viz: (3), (4), (8), (9), (10), (11), (12), (13), (14), and (15) that are for common good and economic benefits in terms of monetary fines/payment of compensation, prohibition of carrying firearms and land grabbing.
Furthermore, the claims that these clauses are meant to rob and annihilate Fulani herders of their lawful belongings through the enactment and enforcement of the bill when it becomes a Law is a misnomer in the light of substantially beneficial clauses that offer protection to all and sundry. Revolt and security breach of law and order can only be caused by criminal(s), which substantial concerned Fulani herders have repeatedly abhorred and condemned. The correlations with happenings in Benue State is grossly misleading and the SLTP Bill in Plateau State has been prepared to suit our peculiarities as first principle of adopting Ranching as best practice.(iii) PART VII of the bill provides for ESTABLISHMENT OF THE STATE RANCH ADMINISTRATION, AND MARSHAL CORPS). This forms the basis for an organized Ranch with relevant facilities for the benefit of all. The MACBAN Leadership however stated that “Knowing the perennial inter-ethnic and inter-religious crises that engulfed Plateau in the past, and that is currently happening in some parts of the State, some marshals will use the medium to discriminate against the Fulani herders and may cause serious mayhem.”. We submit that these assumptions or deductions are preposterous and unfair to the administrative outfit and lawful agency established with mandate to protect life and property. We must strive to have faith in our system.
(iv) Most critical and worthy of note is that the Chairman, Muhammad Nuru Abdullahi had led members of his MACBAN Executive Council to several Townhall/stakeholders’ engagements and meetings in Government House, involving Traditional Rulers, Religious (CAN and JNI) Leaders, Ethnic Nationalities, Development Associations as represented by Plateau Initiative for Development and Advancement of the Natives (PIDAN), Youth and Women Groups, The Media, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), etc. during the over three years (2017-2020) deliberations on Ranching matters. Several of such meetings were presided over by the Executive Governor himself (Attendance Registers available), while succinct public presentations through power point, electronic and print media appearances were made by the Director-General, Research and Documentation. Two notable instances suffice:
a) On Tuesday, 28th August 2018, the Director-General, Research & Documentation made a public presentation on “Interrogating Government Policy Response To Farmer-Herder Conflict In Nigeria” during the Christian Association Of Nigeria (CAN) Northern Region Summit on “Sustainable Peace And Security In Northern Nigeria As A Panacea For Development: The Role Of Christian Religious Leaders.” After the presentation, the MACBAN State Chairman on behalf of his Association commended the presentation, which brought into sharp focus fundamental issues about the planned policy and that truly, Ranching was the way to go with good planning over time scale that would allow complete adaptation by practitioners of open grazing.
b) The last of critical public engagement involving the above stakeholders, included MACBAN State Chairman and the National Economic Council (NEC) Technical Committee on NLTP was held on Tuesday 13th and Wednesday 21st November 2018 on the imperatives of ranching and curbing the Farmer-Herder clashes. The meetings were presided over by Dr. Andrew Kwasari, National Coordinator of the NLTP. At the end of the meeting, key recommendations and resolutions were made, including unanimous adoption of Ranching peculiar to the State’s needs.
c) In fact, following the above, MACBAN made further submission, dated 26th November 2018 on the “…implementation of ranching policy in Plateau State,” where it again made far-reaching suggestions for the common good.
(v) Arising from iv (a – b) above, it is an irony that where Ranching was unanimously adopted by stakeholders in the state, with its attendant benefits, and a proposed Law being enacted by the Government in order to consolidate and sustain the policy, the complainants are writing expressing concerns only on penalties for violations of smooth enforcement.
(vi) FOR THE RECORDS, The Bill, which serves common good, is all-encompassing, a must-read-public-document robustly predicated on six fundamental pillars, namely, Economic Benefit; Conflict Resolution; Law and Order; Humanitarian Relief; Information, Education and Strategic Communication; and other Cross-Cutting Issues. The contents of each pillar are rich and self-explanatory; practical and implementable. The Bill for the Law clearly goes beyond the rhetoric of the misconceived “anti-grazing Law,” “land grabbing,” “discrimination, Harassment” etc. The Executive arm of government did its due diligence and the House of Assembly in carrying out its mandate did the needful by inviting both the Executive arm as well as relevant stake holders and the general public for public hearing.
(vii) Above all, it is worth noting that the Northern Governors Forum have since unanimously adopted Ranching as a policy throughout Northern Nigeria. The allegations of political or religious bias by any group are therefore baseless.
- RECOMMENDATIONS. From the above observations, we wish to make the following recommendations:
a) The over three years of Government’s concerted efforts on advocacy and subsequent embracing of ranching with a view to curbing needless crises, loss of lives and properties and promoting economic growth should be sustained.
b) While it is within the rights of the MACBAN leadership to complain or make their positions clear on issues, it is imperative that they understand the grievous implications of their write-up and avoid misleading their members and the general public. Accordingly, for purpose of advisory exposition, MACBAN leadership should not continue indulging in self-contradiction or grandstanding, when clearly and evidentially they were part and parcel of unanimous submission and endorsement of Ranching, suitable to our peculiarities. We note too that many indigenous people, including their Kith and Kins in the target communities are looking forward to early commencement or implementation.
c) With the tremendous goodwill of government in carrying all and sundry along, including the MACBAN, it appears there is a lot of grandstanding, for whatever the Leadership desire to achieve. Leadership must be seen accountable in providing truthful guidance. The proposed Law is meant to serve the overall interest of the people and not just a particular interest group or individuals. We should not be seen and painted with the dangerous narrative of a State and people that fester on nepotism rather than embracing advisory exposition on virtues of good governance, predicated on Justice, Equity and Accountability. Accordingly, and as a clarion call to MACBAN, we should always consolidate on the adage of thinking Plateau and Acting Plateau.
d) Government had further presented an Executive Bill to the House of Assembly for consideration and passage into Law since 2021. The Honourable House, in exercising due diligence and mandate conducted public hearings on Wednesday 26th January 2022 on the SLTP Bill, with over eighteen critical Stakeholders duly invited. These different groups showed impressively massive attendance; made their quality contributions on improving the contents and spirit of the Bill, endorsed the ideals and looked forward to its quick passage, except MACBAN that ironically claimed not to have any knowledge nor in receipt of copy of the Bill. We note too that many indigenous people, including their Kith and Kins in the target pilot communities are looking forward to early commencement or implementation.
e) It is proposed that the House consider the overall common interest and in the light of the six pillars objectives of the Plateau SLTP and pass the Bill into Law, without prejudice.
- We should all strive to be judged through time and history as being on positive side of progress and promoting mutual co-existence.
God Bless Plateau State and Nigeria in general.
PROFESSOR JOHN W. WADE, PhD (Stirling, U.K.), mni.
DIRECTOR-GENERAL, RESEARCH &
DOCUMENTATION, GOVT. HOUSE
AND SECRREARY, SSC (SLTP).
