Establishment of grazing reserves will stop Southern Kaduna crisis – Miyetti Allah

A lasting and permanent solution to the Southern Kaduna crisis would be the establishment of grazing reserves in the area, the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria has suggested.
The suggestion was made by the Assistant National Secretary of MACBAN, Ibrahim Abdullahi, during a press conference at the Nigeria Union of Journalists secretariat in Kaduna on Friday.
He said that the recent killing of indigenes in four local government areas of Southern Kaduna was as a result of reprisal attacks from Fulani groups who lost their people to the post-election crisis in 2011 in the affected areas.
Abdullahi explained that the attackers, who come from outside the country, can be checked if grazing reserves were established for Fulani indigenes of Southern Kaduna.
“With the grazing reserves you can easily distinguish between the indigenous Fulani and those that come from other countries,” he said.
He said those that are kicking against the establishment of grazing reserves are mischief makers, who are playing politics with the peaceful co-existence of people of the area.
Abdullahi said: “A committee was led by Martin Luther Agwai was mandated to find lasting solution to the crisis. As member of the committee, we went round and the ordinary people of the area embraced the idea of grazing reserve with a traditional leader of one of the communities even offering his farmland for grazing reserve to be established.
“It is unfortunate that the politicians whom we voted then went to organize a press conference to say all the people of Southern Kaduna, including myself, have rejected the idea of grazing reserve, which is purely mischief.”
Abdullahi praised the Kaduna State Government and the law enforcement agencies for efforts made so far towards resolving the crisis, while appealing to all parties to sheathe their swords and embrace peace.
He said: “It would be unfair to bequeath a Southern Kaduna fighting each other to our children.
“Our parents handed a peaceful area to us, so same is expected of us, as such we should preach peace.”
The Miyetti Allah assistant scribe praised the Ikulu, Marwa and Jaba people for their peaceful disposition and called on others to emulate them.
On the issue of paying compensation to herdsmen from other countries, Abdullahi emphasized that it was initiated by their brother, late Governor Patrick Yakowa, who in his wisdom endorsed the compensation to ensure that victims of the 2011 post-election crisis were appeased.
“Initially, we signed MoUs and peace agreements between the indigenous Fulani and the other Southern Kaduna tribes, but the attacks persisted, so we then traced and found out that the attackers were from other countries,” he added.
He explained that being signatories to the ECOWAS protocol of free movement of people and goods between the region, the country visited is also responsible for the safety of visitors, hence the compensation to those affected.