Retired military generals and other Christian elders under the aegis of National Christian Elders Forum, NCEF, have railed against the provision of grazing land to Fulani herdsmen by federal government.
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The group that has in its fold, Gen. Joshua Dogonyaro (retd), Gen. Zamani Lekwot (retd), Elder Moses Ihonde, and Gen. T. Y. Danjuma (retd), faulted the establishment of the grazing reserves saying the development smacked of injustice.
The criticism was contained in a statement released in Abuja by the group wherein it recommended that rather than usurping other people’s land and awarding it to Fulani herdsmen, government should make Sambisa Forest, the base of the dreaded Boko Haram, a grazing reserves.
The statement read in part, “It’s preposterous that with the wide expanse of land available in the North, government is sponsoring grazing reserves for Fulani herdsmen across the nation. Apart from the injustice of government promoting one trade over and above other business interest groups in the country, the NCEF cannot understand the rationale behind the action of some state governors who are willing to release the ancestral land of their people as grazing reserve.
“If grazing reserve is a must for the Fulani herdsmen, instead of ranching which is the international best practice, NCEF recommends that Sambisa Forest should be given to the Fulani herdsmen.”
