Fulani herdsmen: Open grazing is ‘unIslamic,’ Katsina governor tells Buhari

Katsina governor Aminu Bello Masari has kicked against the stance of President Muhammadu Buhari on the ban on open grazing.

Buhari had recently questioned the legality of the recent ban on open grazing in the southern region of Nigeria.

The president, via media aide Garba Shehu, described the ban as “unconstitutional,” of questionable legality, mere politicking and an attempt to demonstrate their (governors’) executive powers.

Asserting that the ban was not the solution to herdsmen’s murderous campaign against farmers, he claimed that the governors preempted him as he was about to revive the abandoned grazing reserves in the states that are willing.

But speaking to journalists in an interview on Tuesday, Masari described the practice which causes Fulani herdsmen to move from place to place as “unIslamic.”

He said, “This is something we have to do through development, provide necessary infrastructure that will make the herders not to move. Why should herders from Katsina move?

‘’The herders’ movement is essentially in search of two things: water and fodder. If we can provide these two items why should they move?

“This roaming about I don’t think. For us, its unIslamic and is not the best. It is part of the problem we are having today. I don’t support that we should continue with the way open grazing is.”

On devolution of power through restructuring, Masari said, “I support devolution totally, the federal government is trying. But the states need to have resource to implement what should have been implemented by the federal government.

‘’If today the states will support the police, the police system will go up. If the states withdraw their support to security agencies, they won’t be able to move from here to there.

‘’So, I absolutely support devolution in totality. So as a government of Katsina we should be allowed by the Constitution, within the Constitution to decide on many things that are peculiar to us.

‘’The federal government should have a benchmark and people should not operate beyond this mark. Lagos state is generating up to ₦4 billion and something billion, while Katsina State is just generating ₦2 billion.

“I expect with proper restructuring, states should own the reflective of what they earns from within their state.”