The Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum (SMBLF) has said there is a surreptitious plan by the Federal Government to repeal the Land Use Act and take over the control of lands in the country from state governors.
This, it said, was to enable the government to subsequently implement the suspended Ruga project.
The forum said it gathered that the Federal Government suspended the Ruga Settlement Programme due to the Act which restricted its access to land, adding that the government may move to repeal the law in order to facilitate the implementation of the Ruga grazing scheme.
The SMBLF cautioned Southern lawmakers in the National Assembly to be vigilant and to guard against the introduction of any bill intended to repeal or amend the Land Use Act.
The forum said this in a statement in Abuja, yesterday by its co-spokespersons: Yinka Odumakin (South-West), Prof. Chigozie Ogbu (South-East), Senator Bassey Henshaw (South-South) and Dr Isuwa Dogo (Middle Belt).
The group stated that it was not impressed by the suspension of the Ruga Settlement Project, which it declared as “an expansionist agenda on behalf of the Fulani nomads.”
The statement reads, “It is being alleged that there will be moves to repeal the Land Use Act in the (Ruga) suspension period so the Federal Government can have authority over land which is currently under the states.
“We, therefore, call on all our members in the National Assembly to be vigilant about any surreptitious bill that may be introduced to tamper with control of land and thwart such without any waste of time.
“The 2014 National Conference debated this issue at length and resolved to retain the Land Use Act in the Constitution.”
The forum further warned the lawmakers against passing the ‘Bill to establish a Regulatory Framework for the Water Resources Sector in Nigeria,’ sponsored by the executive, noting that it was meant to give the Federal Government sole authority and control over the nation’s rivers and underground water.
The group added, “When this obnoxious Water Bill is taken alongside the Ruga programme and the speculated assault on Land Use Act, the internal colonialism agenda is complete and we would have no one but ourselves to blame if we don’t effect our ‘no-pasaran’ (They shall not pass — a slogan used to express determination to defend a position against an enemy).
“It is pertinent to ask why the FG is not going ahead with Ruga in some northern states that have accepted the policy if the whole idea was not about land-grabbing in the South and Middle Belt states,” it said.
The political pressure group stated that the Federal Government’s support for local government autonomy was hinged on the Ruga scheme to allow “aliens” to take over allotted land under the programme.
Meanwhile, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), in Southern Nigeria, yesterday, cautioned the people of the area to remain cautious even with the suspension of the controversial Ruga settlements for Fulani herdsmen.
The warning was contained in a press statement issued by the Secretary of CAN in the 17 Southern States, Dr Joseph Ajujungwa.
Ajujungwa, who said the suspension of the programme by President Muhammadu Buhari may not be its end, said there was every indication “though it is claimed that it has been suspended, the underground work is still going on.”
He called on every Southerner “to be watchful”, stressing that “even as we pray, we don’t need to keep quiet; they are experts in underground work.”
He added that “We do not have land to give to anybody as a grazing field or colony and we call on the South-East governors to maintain their stand that they do not have such a place. Do you know what it means to give 10 hectares of land to herdsmen? We say no to that.
“As CAN, we will preach it from our pulpit, every Imam should preach from the mosque and the traditionalists should stand against it; nobody should relent; no land should be given; any traditional ruler that does that should be dethroned.
“In the North, we have largest hectares of land, very vast that nobody is occupying. Why are they not building the ranches, Ruga of whatever there? They can come here, take grass and go, and we buy cow in exchange, just like the governors said. We do not have such mass land required.”
“We are also calling on the federal government to be mindful of what they are doing because cattle rearing is a private farming business. Why should the government support individual cattle farmers against other farmers?”
On the threat and ultimatum issued by a coalition of Northern Youths, Ajujungwa said, “they should understand that nobody has the monopoly of violence. As they are planning to attack, others are planning to defend themselves and we cannot run away for them.
“CAN is calling on all Christians, all law abiding citizens of the Southern Nigeria to, please, watch and pray. Watch means that you must open your eyes to see what is going on and therefore pray; do not relent.
“Anybody that is coming to buy land now, in the name of business, factory, and what have you, let us be cautious in dealing with the person, because their plot is to turn such into colony.”
Also, the pan-Yoruba socio-cultural organisation, Afenifere, has described the Ruga settlement policy initiated by the Presidency as an ethnic agenda, saying that ranching was the way to end killing by Fulani herdsmen.
The Igbo socio-political body, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, as well as the Pan-Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) have joined Afenifere in calling on the Federal Government to embrace and preach ranching to Fulani herdsmen instead of funding their private business.
In the same vein, the umbrella body for the North, the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), has called on Nigerians not to heat up the polity on the Ruga issue, stressing that peaceful herdsmen in the country should be encouraged.
Speaking through its Publicity Secretary, Mr Yinka Odumakin, in an interview with newsmen, Afenifere said the government must not commit the nation’s resources to the private business of individuals.
Odumakin said, “There are three things that will solve the problem of herdsmen killings. The first thing is that the Federal Government should stop behaving like the government of herdsmen. Government must begin to enforce law and order and make sure that no group or people act with impunity against the other.
“We have cases of those who have gone at one time or another to report herdsmen’s atrocities but security forces would not take their reports because the president is the grand patron of herdsmen. That constrains security agencies from acting against them because they see it as against the president.
“Nigerians voted for ranching at the 2014 constitutional conference as a way out of this crisis and that those ranches should not be the business of government. Individuals should set them up because the owners of these cattle are billionaires but those who are moving the cattle labourers.
“If there is no ethnic agenda, which former President Olusegun Obasanjo called Fulanisation, there is no need committing government’s resources to individuals’ businesses. This is why so many people believe that Buhari is pursuing an ethnic agenda.”
Also, the National Publicity Secretary of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Uche Achi-Ukpaga, said that ranching was the way out, but said the ranches should be built in the North where the cattle are.
He said, “If anyone is in government and the kind of killing, maiming and other wicked acts by the herdsmen are still going on, then you resign because you don’t have the initiative to tackle it.
“Our position on Ruga is that it should be cancelled and not suspended. Suspension is like keep-in-view. Some of the actions of the government are laughable.
“People are saying that the Sambisa Forest is large enough to accommodate all the cattle in Africa, not Nigeria alone. There is green vegetation there and government can go there to do ranching or Ruga. There is land in the North and cattle are there. Why can’t they set up whatever they want to set up there?
“We want Ruga to be cancelled. We don’t want it in the South. If we must do ranching, let them do it in the North where there is a large expanse of land lying fallow. Why coming to the South where the land is congested?”
In the same vein, the PANDEF asked the Federal Government to create an enabling environment for ranching, noting that this was the solution to the herdsmen-farmers’ conflict in the country.
PANDEF said it would not entertain the implementation of Ruga in the South-South, stressing that herders, like other Nigerian businessmen, could buy land in any state and set up ranches.
The National Secretary of the Niger Delta group, Dr Alfred Mulade, told the government to steer clear of the issue, adding that herdsmen, who wished to set up ranches, were free to do so.
Mulade stated, “Ranching is okay but it should be left to the herders just like the way any Igboman hires a shop in any part of the country for his business. It’s purely a business venture. So, the government should steer clear of it, because cattle rearing is a business, just like any other business.
“If the herders feel the need to do ranching, they could buy land in any part of the country. The government cannot force anything down the throats of the people.”
Similarly, the Taraba Volunteer Group, a civil society organisation, has commended President Muhammadu Buhari for listening to the voice of reason and suspending the proposed Ruga settlements for Fulani herdsmen.
In a statement by the group’s Coordinator, Mr Joseph Terence, and Legal Adviser, Mr Nierus Johnson, in Jalingo, TVG said Ruga settlement was clearly against the import and the provisions of Section 42 (1) b of the 1999 Constitution as amended which provides for equal treatment for all communities and citizens.
“Rather than spend huge sums of money to benefit only a particular community in the name of Ruga settlement, such funds should be used in alleviating the sufferings of millions of Nigerians in IDP camps.”