The Muslim Rights Concern has asked the Federal Government to give out bailout funds to herders to buy land in states for ranching in a bid to address herder-farmer conflicts and insecurity.
The Director of the organisation, Professor Ishaq Akintola, said this in a statement titled, ‘MURIC to FG: Give bailout funds to herders to buy land for ranching’.
Recall that some state governors have banned open and night grazing in their states to address banditry and the crisis between farmers and herders.
However, Akitola noted that although herders and cow owners may not be willing or may lack the capacity to buy land for cattle grazing, northern traditional leaders have a role to play in persuading herders and cow owners to change their mindset and become willing to operate ranches while the federal government should be ready to support them with loans and grants.
He said if bailout funds could be given to banks, airlines, vehicle producing companies, and petroleum importers, such financial assistance should be extended to herders.
Akintola said the herder-farmer conflicts do not have ethnic and religious connotations, and that cattle also destroy crops in the northern part of the country.
He further said MURIC had come to the conclusion that no religious or ethnic sentiment should be built around the herdsmen/farmers clash whether in Oyo, Ekiti or Ondo State as the issue is purely an economic and security problem and it has nothing to do with Fulanisation or Islamisation.
Professor Akintola concluded by saying that a huge bailout must be granted to herders and cow owners to enable them buy land and set up ranches.
