According to Saleh Alhassan the National Secretary of Fulani Socio-Cultural Association, Miyetti Allah, members of the association won’t obey the anti-open grazing laws enacted by some Southern governors.
Alhassan the law is “satanic and empty.”
SaharaReporters had earlier reported that the 17 Southern governors led by Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo state met in Lagos on July 5, 2021, and “set a timeline of Wednesday, 1st September, 2021 for the promulgation of the anti open grazing law in all member states”.
On August 31, 2021, Akeredolu signed into law, the Anti-Grazing Bill passed by the State House of Assembly.
Some other governors in the Southern part of the country had also signed the bill into law in the last few weeks with a move geared towards curbing farmer-herder crisis and attendant insecurity in the region.
On Tuesday, Alhassan condemned the move by Akeredolu and his colleagues.
He said, “As far as we are concerned, the anti-grazing bill is a satanic bill. We have already initiated legal actions both locally and internationally against Akeredolu and other governors trying to destroy our means of livelihood.
“All the people promoting the law are in connivance with the devil. How do you disturb people from their normal business without providing alternative? It’s an empty law, it’s just a political body they are using to steal money in the name of security votes. Most of the cows you see in Southern Nigeria belong to Yoruba and Igbo merchants; they are the ones that owe these cows. This hype about anti-grazing is just political.
“Even in Benue that it has been implemented, what are the consequences? It’s such a devilish law, you see crisis all over; there is no secret grazing since the time of Moses. They should provide the ranches, we are ready to even hire the ranches if available. Cattle rearing is not okada business you can ban by law. This is the culture of the people, you can’t change it overnight.”
When asked if the association was ready to comply with the law, he said, “How will you obey an empty law? The law is satanic, it’s not implementable, it’s a negative law, so how do you implement that? Do you start arresting people with their cattle? Where are the ranches you have created for them?
“We know that we are serving a living God. We are warning seriously that any tribal security outfit that will listen to their Governor that they want to illegally eject our herders or steal their cows, God will be deal with them in numerous ways. We are peace loving.”
