The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami has advocated for the movement of herders and animals, particularly cattle known for wreaking havoc on farmlands.
Malami on Wednesday said his controversial position on open grazing was not outside the scope of the nation’s constitution.
Malami stated this while answering questions from State House correspondents at Presidential Villa, Abuja.
He said: “Well, on the issue of farmers/ herders clashes, no position was taken by the Office of the Attorney General outside the scope of constitutional provisions.
“The position of the Office of the Attorney General is about freedom and liberty of movement among others.
“And what the Office of the Attorney General has simply succeeded in doing is making a reference to relevant constitutional provisions and established a position that each and every Nigerian is entitled to freedom of movement simpliciter.
“So, the issue is whether that freedom of movement is constitutionally guaranteed, or is not. And my answer to it is, the freedom of movement is indeed, constitutionally guaranteed.”
While many other countries have been busy finding innovative ways to make lives easier for their citizens and prioritising technological advancement, Nigeria has been struggling with how best to graze its cattle.
Many farmers have been recording low yields because of the activities of herders, who go about with their cattle and damage farm crops in the process finding food and water for them.
This has contributed to hikes in prices of food items and rising inflation.
The crisis has also led to the state of insecurity across the country as herders have taken to arms to forcibly graze their cattle and take over people’s farms.
In many cases, they kill or kidnap their victims for ransom.
Meanwhile, the body language of the Muhammadu Buhari-led government has always supported herders against farmers.
And even recently after 17 Southern governors resolved to pass anti-open grazing laws in their respective states to curb the crisis and criminal activities associated with herders, the Buhari regime was quick to lambast them for the move.
In a recent interview on Channels TV, Malami even compared open grazing to the sale of spare parts by Igbo people in the North, forgetting that the activities of spare parts dealers have not been known to wreak havoc on host communities.
Malami had said, “It is about constitutionality within the context of the freedoms expressed in our constitution. Can you deny the rights of a Nigerian?
“For example, it is as good as saying, perhaps, maybe, the northern governors coming together to say they prohibit spare parts trading in the north.
“Does it hold water? Does it hold water for a northern governor to come and state expressly that he now prohibits spare parts trading in the north?”
Malami urged the governors to first amend the Constitution to prohibit open grazing before going ahead with their decision.
“If you are talking of constitutionally guaranteed rights, the better approach to it is to, perhaps, go back to ensure the Constitution is amended,” he said.
“Freedom and liberty of movement among others is established by the Constitution. If by an inch you want to have any compromise over it, the better approach is to go back to the National Assembly to say open grazing should be prohibited and see whether you can have the desired support for the constitutional amendment.
“It is a dangerous provision for any governor in Nigeria to think he can bring any compromise on the freedom and liberty of individuals to move around.”
Chairman of the Southern Governors Forum, Rotimi Akeredolu, had explained that the decision is not new and most of the governors had placed a ban on open grazing in their states before the meeting where the resolution was made.
“We felt that … this open grazing must stop. It is causing a lot of problems particularly between the herders and the farmers. Whether we like it or not, times have changed and this must change. We must adopt a modern system of animal husbandry.
“In this day and age, they cannot continue taking cows by foot from Kano to Port Harcourt,” he had said.
The governor said the Federal government needs to throw its weight behind state governments that want to set up ranches, noting that this will benefit the herders who are exposed to dangers as they roam with their cattle.
