Masari: Herdsmen Should Stay In One Place

Governor Bello Masari of Katsina State has said herdsmen ought to stay in a place to graze their cattle.

He said this in an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today.

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The governor, who faulted the movement of herders from one part of the country to another, said government ought to make provision for where animals would stay before banning grazing.

“We intend to have a law banning (cattle) roaming but before we do that, we would make provisions for where the animals would stay.”

“Herdsmen should stay in one place. Roaming about should not be encouraged. In fact, for us, it is un-Islamic. Why do you have animals that you cannot feed and you have to go to other people’s land and farm and you say that is right? I don’t think it is right.”

He added that the Federal Government has disbursed N6.2 billion for the project as part of the efforts to kick start the ranching programme.

“We already have started, the Federal Government has given us N6.2 billion and as a state government, we are also investing N6.2 billion. The objective is to have Fulanis stay in one place.”

The Southern Governors Forum had earlier announced a ban on open grazing of cattle across states in the region.

While a few of them signed the law banning open grazing before the September 1, 2021 deadline, others failed to do so.