Senator representing Nasarawa
West Senatorial district and former governor of Nasarawa State, Abdullahi
Adamu, said government owes it a duty to treat herdsmen the other citizens were
being treated.
He spoke at a media parley with
Senate Press Corps in Abuja on Monday, saying that the hullabaloo about herders
in Nigeria were unnecessary given that they are also Nigerians and should be
protected by government at various levels.
He lamented that herders because
of their calling don’t enjoy infrastructure like good road, electricity, pipe
borne water etc, yet their rights were being stampeded.
According to him, government
should make funds available to herdsmen pursuing their legitimate business the
same way businessmen across the country have access to funds from the national
treasury.
He said: “This government has a
duty like the way its treating businessmen in Alaba, Onitsha, Kano, and Port
Harcourt to treat herdsmen too because they are Nigerians. These provisions are
public funds. They are not from the private fund of any governor or senator.
The funds are from the treasury of this country and every Nigerian has a stake
in that treasury.
“So the government has a duty to
find a wherewithal to make it possible for herdsmen not to go astray in the
course of pursuing his legitimate duty.”
Abdullahi, who is the Senate
Committee Chairman on Agriculture and Rural Development, expressed
disappointment at how governors are legislating on anti-open grazing law,
saying that the right to movement of herders were being inhibited.
While reacting to questions on
national issues, he added: “When I read the meeting of southern governors and
the issue of open grazing and how they kicked against it and threatened to make
law against it. I replied them in a manner that you recalled.
“I believe as governors, as
members of the executive, operating in the different tier of government, they
have a constitutional responsibility, the constitution upon which they take an
oath of office.
“One of the fundamental rights
there is every Nigerian, no exception. Every Nigerian has a right of free
movement. Every Nigerian has a right to pursue a legitimate business. Right of
association is enshrined in the constitution. You cannot under any pretence
take away these rights.
“I don’t know under any condition
which government can say, yes, we can take away this right. When they came up
with this, I was wondering. First and foremost, a week earlier before the
meeting the governors had here in Abuja and there was no such announcement like
that. I was taken aback when I read about their meeting in Asaba.”
Responding to questions that
anti-grazing law was gaining traction in the North, he said: “I still stand by
that. The fact that one or two governors in the North have said something like
that does not take away the right of herdsmen.
“The question here is nature has
closed vacuum. You can’t build something on nothing. The duty to protect
herdsmen and farmers rest squarely on the national government, State Government
and the Local government administration.
“The question here is, has the
government done what it is supposed to do to protect Nigerians who are in that
calling, in that profession and in that trade? The answer is no and you cannot
blame the person who is desperately looking for means of livelihood.
“However, this does not excuse
somebody who is pursuing his right from doing harm to somebody’s right. I must
be very clear on this, a farmer has right to farm, if you dare carry your
cattle and and damage his farm crops, he has right to make claims in the Court
of law. That’s the law as I understand it.
“So, it doesn’t matter. If the
whole Northern governors make the same pronouncement that the Southern
governors did, that doesn’t shake my fundamental position on this. Government
owes herdsmen a duty to protect their calling and I dare repeat that if you go
to Wuse Market here, you will see how many infrastructure have been provided by
the FCT and Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) like water, and electricity.
These are for Nigerians. These herdsmen are Nigerians.”
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com