–Say No to Cattle Colony in Yorubaland
Against the background of Fulani herdsmen attacks and killing spreading across the nation with recent incidences in Ogun state and other South West States, Senator Solomon Adeola (APC, Lagos West) aka Yayi, the Chairman of Senate Committee on Local Content has called on state governments in the region to be proactive in finding preventing solutions to the recurrence of such attacks and killings.
The Senator stated that the controversial “Cattle Colony” being considered by the Federal Government as a solution the herdsmen-farmers clashes should not be considered by any state governments from all Yorubaland as its far reaching socio economic and political effects promises to destroyed the socio cultural way of life of Yorubas stressing that from records of such colonies in the past, it is a source of conflicts for even generations yet unborn.
“In parts of Ogun West where I hail from as well as other parts of Southwest zone, the savannah vegetation is conducive to ranching and some of our people rear and breed a specie of cattle without destroying other people’s farmlands and crops. However, they have been victims of Fulani herdsmen attacks resulting in deaths with one reported some weeks ago. And the attack is spreading with one in Ewekoro and then Ijebu Ode axis of the state. Government should move quickly to stem this trend” Senator Adeola stated.
Senator Adeola stated that in line with modern livestock practices worldwide which gives better yield and economic return, herdsmen should move with time and embrace ranching as a way of continuing their agricultural business stressing that the business cannot grow or be profitable with attacks and killings of farmers as such will eventually lead to repercussions that is not in the interest of business or the nation.
“I call on government at all levels to consider the option of ranching as a way of resolving these ugly incidences of attacks and killings. Government can subsidize such a system for a period or give grants/loans to herders to have ranches in similar ways as it is done in other areas of our agricultural sector” Senator Adeola stated.
