Yoruba socio-cultural organisation, Afenifere, has explained why the national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, does not oppose the rural grazing area (Ruga) settlement programme of the federal government.
The programme seeks to give free land to nomadic herdsmen for cattle grazing and other forms of animal husbandry.
Spokesman for the group, Mr. Yinka Odumakin said in an interview that Tinubu is one of the promoters of the Ruga initiative for he had previously called on the federal government to help herders gradually move from their traditional nomadic existence to a more static lifestyle.
Odumakin who spoke in an interview recalled ho Tinubu, in his speech at a national summit on conflict resolution organised by The Nation and TV Continental with the theme, ‘Towards an Enduring Peace,’ held in Abuja on October 8, 2018 said: “The government must help herders gradually shift from their traditional nomadic existence to a more static lifestyle. We have to face the reality that modernity is making the nomadic way counterproductive and inefficient.
“Unoccupied, isolated land can quickly be turned into grazing areas in the affected states. In the long run, this will enable herders to better maintain their livestock and thus their own livelihood.”
He said it was for this reason that the APC leader could not join other prominent Yoruba leaders in rejecting the Ruga programme.
“It would be a waste of time to expect Tinubu to say anything on the Ruga matter. Don’t forget that in 2018, it was reported…that he said all unused lands should be given to herdsmen for grazing. I spoke up then but he lambasted me.
“What we are witnessing today is a manifestation of what he said. So, how can he come out today to oppose Ruga? He advocated Ruga.
“To expect Asiwaju to speak against Ruga is like expecting a shadow to shed tears. It will never happen,” said Odumakin.
He said the Ruga initiative and the National Livestock Development Plan (NLDP) handled by the vice president, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo were not different from each other as claimed by President Muhammadu Buhari’s Spokesman, Mr. Garba Shehu.
