Olaide Oyelude
27 May 2021
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Katsina State Governor, Aminu Masari, has opposed open grazing of cattle, saying it should be discontinued.
Masari, in an interview with journalists in Katsina on Tuesday evening, described open grazing as un-Islamic.
Open grazing has been generating controversy in the country since May 11 when the Southern governors at their meeting in Asaba, the Delta State capital, banned the practice in a move aimed at addressing insecurity in the region.
On Thursday last week, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, in an interview with Channels Television, said the ban was unconstitutional.
The Presidency, in a statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, on Monday, supported the ban and described it and other resolutions of the governors as “acts of politicking.”
On Tuesday evening, Masari said necessary infrastructure on livestock farming should be provided in states for ranching, instead of promoting open grazing.
The governor stated, “This is something we have to do through development, provide necessary infrastructure that will make the herders not to 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?
“The roaming about, for us is un-Islamic and it is not the best. It is part of the problems we are having today. I don’t support that we should continue with open grazing.”
The governor also spoke about other issues including current agitation for devolution of power through restructuring.
He stated, “I support devolution totally. The Federal Government is trying. But the states need to have resources 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. As a government of Katsina State, we should be allowed by the constitution to decide many things that are peculiar to us.” ,,