Anti-open grazing law is meaningless

Nasarawa State governor, Umaru Al-Makura has declared that the anti-open grazing law is meaningless.

He said the law will not be passed or enforced in the state.

The governor while speaking to some guests at the government house in Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital on Friday, said the law was meaningless because provision had to be made for the herdsmen and farmers before the law can be enforced.

“It is meaningless, it has no sense. Nasararwa is not going to implement the anti-grazing law because it is meaningless. It has no sense whatsoever but any state has self-determination to do what it likes,” he said.

Recall that the Benue State government had on Wednesday, November 1, officially effected its ban on open grazing throughout the state.

Al-Makura in response to this, on Thursday said Benue State cannot be blamed for this decision but insisted that Nasarawa State will not carry out such law.

“You cannot blame Benue because they have done it but Nasarawa will not do it because it doesn’t have a meaning.

“You have to study the situation and also provide for both the farmers and the herdsmen before you embark on it. You must have a regulatory mechanism that will ensure the compliance to this. If you don’t have that and you just go ahead to make the law, it doesn’t make any sense,” he said.

The governor said there was nothing to worry about as the relationship between herdsmen and farmers in Nasarawa state was cordial.

“The time has not reached for us to make the law because we have not seen anything to worry about.

“The relationship between the farmers and the herdsmen is okay and the problem that are arising from such problems is things that have been there for hundreds of years and it can never stop,”‎ he said.