Posted by A group called the Nsukka Zone Elders Forum (NEF) has advised the state’s governor, Peter Mbah, against taking any actions that could exacerbate the security situation in the state, as tensions continue to rise in the wake of the Enugu State Government’s plans to establish ranches in some areas of the state in an effort to reduce clashes between Fulani herders and the indigenous communities living there.
In a statement, the group denounced what it called a revised attempt to reinstate the previously suspended Rural Grazing Areas (RUGA) scheme of the former administration of Muhammadu Buhari and urged the state government to find innovative solutions to the state’s security issues as opposed to the current effort, which they claimed aims to deprive the populace while appeasing the migrant herders.
Barr Okey Ambrose (Uzo Uwani), Prof. Denchris Onah (Isi Uzo), Gen. Chris Eze (rtd) (Udenu), High Chief Cyril Ossai (Igbo Eze North), Barr P.I.P. Ezugwu (Igbo Eze South), Arapa Engr Joel Ezugwu (Nsukka), Barr Sam Otoboeze (Igbo Etiti), Barr Emeka Awkadigwe (Uzo Uwani), Dr. Felix Ugwu (Igbo Eze South), Prof. L.C. Ogenyi (Isi Uzo), Chief Nnanwike Nwodo (Igbo Etiti), Barr Peter Odo (Nsukka), Chief Dr Frank Okenwa (Udenu), and Chief Dr Matthias Omeh (Igbo Eze North).
Recall that after reports of the state government’s intentions to build cattle ranches for Fulani herdsmen in some areas of the Uzo-Uwani and Isi Uzo Local Government Areas, tensions in the state have increased.
The State Commissioner for Information, also known as Eze Aka, denied the rumors, but he did acknowledge that the state administration intends to build ranches in various areas of the state to control the ongoing conflicts between local residents and Fulani herders who are migrants.
The Commissioner described the goals of the state government in launching the contentious program in a statement headlined “Ranching is not RUGA.”
“The government’s purpose is very clear in this regard. For a very long time, armed bandits and kidnappers have used our farms and forests as cover for horrific crimes including rape, murder, and kidnapping. These crimes are committed in the guise of herders.
The Commissioner stated in his statement that “the government of Enugu State has resolved to put a stop to these and introduce ranching, the most modern way of rearing cattles.”
However, NEF said that the state government’s selective pacifist approach to solving the killing of state indigenous by herdsmen shows a lack of capability, even as it accused the state government of being insensitive to the attacks and killings of people by suspected Fulani herdsmen in the past.
As recompense for several years of bloodletting and terrorizing these communities, the group declared, “the only interpretation any right-thinking citizen of Enugu State will give to the ongoing disgraceful development is that the Enugu State Government is determined, for whatever reason, to take community land and gift the same people who have been accused of masterminding the brutal killings of the people.”
The group contended that only a feeble government or one insensitive to the sensibilities of the populace could come to the conclusion that the government’s policy would encourage the aggressor against their victims.
After examining the events over the years, particularly the government’s disrespect for the people’s sensibilities and the security situation surrounding the relationship between aborigines and herders, we are forced to draw the conclusion that the Enugu State Government is determined to exacerbate the security conditions in the areas of the state that have been so carefully selected for these offensive programs.
NEF stated in the statement that “the interpretations possible are that government is too weak to protect the people or that they are aligning with the oppressors to visit even more harm on the innocent” if the Enugu State Government believes that the only way to stop the farmer-herder clashes is to take the land belonging to the people and donate it to those responsible for the clashes.
NEF questioned why, months after the federal government had first proposed the program almost five years ago, the Enugu State Government was so intent on reviving it in spite of the public outrage that forced its suspension.
In the sake of justice and peace, it urged all well-meaning Nigerians, especially the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, to persuade Governor Peter Mbah to axe the initiative.
The NEF also reminded the state governor that the government’s main duty is to ensure the safety of the people living in Enugu State, and that in order to protect the populace, efforts should not be made to appease those who are thought to be criminals.
In addition, it made clear that although the government has the authority to use and distribute land, this authority must be guided by the overriding public interest. This raised questions about the nature of the overwhelming public interest in stealing land from indigenous people and using it for the profit of others.
NEF drew a parallel between what they alleged was occurring at Ugwuoba, a livestock resettlement in the state’s Oji River Local Government Area, and history, claiming that the establishment of such settlements has raised rather than decreased crime rates in those places.
Additionally, we would want to bring to the attention of Governor Peter Mbah the current situation in Ugwuoba, Oji River Local Government Area, where residents have been subjected to various sorts of criminal activity, including drug trafficking and robbery. It is noteworthy that Colonel Robert Nnaemeka Akonobi, the military governor of Enugu State, established the community with the intention of resolving the conflicts between migrant herders and landowners.
The residents of the region have been experiencing increased crime waves ever since this was done, which has resulted in recent complaints and security concerns.
The statement said, “We fear that if this present program is allowed to be implemented, the situation in Ugwuoba will replicate in the Nsukka geo-cultural zone.”