…Says zone hasn’t sufficient landmass

…Blames rising food prices to incessant attacks on agrarian communities

By Steve Oko

The International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety), has cautioned South East Governors against opening their states to veiled cattle ranching under the guise of agro-industrial farms and trailer parks.

Intersociety, in a strong-worded statement, argued that the South East with a landmass of only 29.525km2, has insufficient land, and could not afford to ceed any part of its soil for such a purpose.

The statement jointly signed by the group’s Board Chairman, Emeka Umeagbalasi; Head, Democracy and Good Governance Programme, Chinwe Umeche; and, Head, Civil Liberties and Rule of Law Programme, Obianuju Igboeli, warned of the grave implications of having cattle ranches in the zone.

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Intersociety told the Governors that it would amount to abuse of power for them to take the people’s land and donate for cattle ranching, vowing that such a move under any guise will be stoutly resisted.

It particularly advised the Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State against embracing the proposed agro-industrial farm which, according to it is cattle ranching in disguise.

“The Governors in question, particularly Gov Peter Mbah of Enugu State are strongly advised to back off from any form of moves under whatever disguises or camouflages aimed at establishment of herders’ settlements in any part of their respective states”, the statement cautioned.

“These moves must be done away with in the entire South-East or be lawfully and popularly resisted”, the statement added.

 The statement further said:”It has been observed by Intersociety since Dec 2023 and Jan and Feb 2024 that despite denials and reasons given by the Governors and their Governments or defenses publicly made to justify the widely suspected politically motivated moves to establish the so called “non native trailer parks” or “agro-industrial farms” or “mechanized farm settlements” or “ modern cow ranching”, etc; most social clusters have remained saturated with strong suspicions that the Govs and their Governments are being economical with the truth.

” While such moves have clandestinely been intensified at sub-state government level in Anambra State since 2022 through the Ministry of Homeland Security and its Commissioner; in Enugu and Abia States, they are believed to have reared their ugly heads since Dec 2023 after the electoral apex court judgments in the 2023 governorship polls in the two states.

“These moves are made more suspicious going by the fact that these Governors and their Governments particularly those of Enugu and Anambra hardly speak out publicly in strong condemnation of jihadist  herdsmen violence in their respective states including abductions and killings in captivity, sexual violence, open killings, property robberies and seizure and wanton destruction of farmlands and crops, etc.

“The moves by the named Govs and their Governments and reasons given have also become more suspicious following disclosures by the Governments of Enugu and Abia of the involvement of the Federal Government of Nigeria in the moves.

“While the Government of Enugu State said “it is planning to build a military base in Nimbo (Uzo Uwani) to protect its planned cow ranching and the people of the area”, the Government of Abia State said “it is collaborating with the Federal Government to build a (non native) trailer park at Aro-Ngwa.

” The two explanations are utterly suspicious because going by the provisions of Nigeria’s existing 1999 Constitution, it is outside the Legislative Mandate of any State to build a military base or get a Federal Government approval or collaboration before building a trailer park on Concurrent Legislative List controlled land spaces located off a Trunk A (federal) Road.

“Promising to “build a military base” is also sobriquet: of the so called “modern cow ranching”, following brazen partisanship and deep distrust of the military by many citizens across the country since July 2015.

 “It is therefore most likely correct to say that the ongoing moves by the named Govs and their Governments are tantamount to “the Voice of Jacob and the Hands of Esau.

“It must be clearly pointed out that it is the duties of the referenced Govs and their Governments, as Chief Security Officers of their respective States, to rise to the occasion at ensuring security and safety of those they were elected or selected to govern and protect including mustering enough political will to flush out marauding herdsmen wreaking havocs in farmlands located in communities across their states and restore farmers’ access to their farmlands and cultivated and harvested crops.

“The Govs and their Governments are also duty bound to ensure general security and safety of lives and properties in their domains and provide access and good roads, energy supply, ICT technologies, social amenities and services as well as modern urban and rural planning (.i.e. forest reserves and tree planting, etc) so as to attract huge direct foreign investments (under public-private-partnership-PPP)”.

The group blamed the skyrocketing prices of food items on the incessant raids on agrarian communities by herdsmen and bandits.

It said that prices of food could not be expected to come down when farmers who were displaced from their ancestral homes by herders are still squatting in Internally Displaced Persons, IDP homes.

Vanguard Newspaper