The
Federal Government at the weekend urged states to make land available for the
controversial RUGA settlement, even as it said N2.258 billion was allocated for
the initiative in the 2019 budget.
Disclosing
the position of the government when he hosted Akwa Ibom State indigenes from
the Law School, Abuja, Ita Enang, Senior Special Assistant on National Assembly
Matters to President Muhammadu Buhari, insisted that the word ‘RUGA’ does not
derive from Hausa or Fulani but is an acronym for Rural Grazing Area (RUGA),
and is not intended to foist any religion or ethnic group on other sections of
the country.
Critics
of the scheme had accused the Federal Government of covertly trying to Islamise
or Fulanise parts of the country.He cited item ERGP 5208 of the 2019 federal
budget (for the Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Development) as containing
the fiscal provision, saying allocations were equally made of N300 million for
water sanitation, N400 million for the development for sweet potatoes, and N350
million for ginger production.
He
expressed surprise over the inability of some states governors to comprehend
the policy. According to him, one of the first RUGA programmes is the Obudu
Cattle Ranch (now Obudu Mountain Resort) in Cross River State and the Yankari
Games Reserve in Bauchi State.
According
to Enang, the Federal Government has always made yearly allocations for the
funding of grazing areas. He further noted that the National Executive Council
(NEC) approved another sum for an emergency RUGA implementation. This, he said,
did not involve any state in the south-east, south-west and south-south, but
only 10 states mainly in the north-central, and a few others in the north-west
and north-east.
National
Assembly members are not against the scheme because they are already aware of
its modus operandi and have been approving funds for its implementation, the
presidential aide said, appealing to Nigerians to stop politicising the
matter.Responding, the leader of the students’ delegation, Ndifrake Inyang,
said he was now in a better position to enlighten people about RUGA “having
known the facts.”
He
added: “Sincerely speaking, RUGA is something that everybody would want to have
because of the economic derivatives. I also want the RUGA settlement in my
state, Akwa Ibom, so that there will be employment and our people can benefit
from it and also put to an end to the national crisis, so that we will have one
peaceful Nigeria.”
But
worries about Fulani herdsmen, beneficiaries of RUGA, and their alleged link to
violence, are unlikely to disappear soon. Following Thursday’s murder in Enugu
of a Catholic priest, Rev. Fr Offu, by suspected herdsmen, aggrieved adherents
of the faith yesterday expressed disapproval at the Federal Government’s
handling of security.
Thousands
of the faithful had gathered at the Holy Ghost Cathedral to pray for the repose
of the late Offu’s soul and for peace in the nation. But when the bishop, Most
Rev. Callistus Onaga, disclosed that Buhari had condoled with the church, the
audience erupted, shouting: “No! No! No! We don’t want his condolence! He
should keep his condolence to himself and stop the killings!”A statement titled
‘Enough Is Enough’ released by the church after the Mass, asked the Enugu State
government to urgently flush out “bad Fulani from the state.”
The
deceased, 49, will be interred August 20.Also, the Federal Polytechnic Ado
Ekiti announced it had begun the construction of a perimeter fence to ward off
the alleged invasion of its land by suspected herdsmen.At a press conference
heralding the institution’s 17th convocation slated for August 12, the Rector, Hephzibah
Oladebeye, disclosed that the school last year lost over N10 million worth of
farm produce to the activities of herders.
“This
has been our problem from time immemorial. Last year, they destroyed the school
farm. It was very painful to us. We were agitated and held a meeting with the
herders and security agencies.“We are not going to drive them away but we are
commencing the perimeter fence so that their movement, in and out, can be
regulated. Again, you have to take permission before you can graze here,” the
rector said.
But
in an appeal to government at the weekend, the Bauchi State chapter of Miyetti
Allah, a body of Fulani herdsmen, said: “Additional earth dams and the
expansion of grazing reserves will curtail the clashes between farmers and
cattle herdsmen and reduce the movement of the Fulani from one place to another
in search of water and grazing reserve.”
The
chairman, Muhammadu Husseini, told journalists at a press conference: “All the
cattle routes have been taken over by modern roads and houses built by government
and individuals. This has put herdsmen in a difficult position.”
Similarly,
agric-based firm, Food Work Africa Limited, will hold a national conference on
RUGA from September 24 to 27 with a view to solving the herders-farmers
conflict.
According
to the convener, Ihechukwu Dallas Chima, RUGA has always existed but Buhari is
facing resistance on the scheme because he is Fulani. He said the conference
will highlight the rules of engagement for both parties, stressing there would
be no problem if herders and farmers realised they could benefit
economically.“If we don’t solve the crisis now, 20 years to come, there might
be no food or beef in the country,” Chima warned.
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