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Malami’s defense of open grazing; a gutting gaffe

Point Blank

LAST week Tuesday, on the 11th of May 2021, the 17 governors of Southern Nigerian states agreed to place a ban on open grazing of cattle in their respective states after a meeting held at State Government House in Asaba, DeltaState.

For many Nigerians, this decision contained no element of surprise.

In fact, it was expected. Herders have been permitted to roam these states for decades without much trouble. Some younger Nigerians who attended Unity Schools —surrounded by the lush vegetation in some southeastern or southwestern states— can still remember seeing large herds of cattle occasionally led by an armed northern man as they grazed. Aside the unhygienic trail of dung always left behind or a rarely seen verbal altercation between villagers and herders, open grazing was causing no harm to our local communities.

Mam lam

Unfortunately, the same thing cannot be said today. The events of the past few months have blurred the line between armed herders, criminals, and bandits. We are now worried about this serious security challenge posed by foreigners wielding Dane guns or AK-47 rifles to defend cattle that sometimes have a strong desire to wander into farmlands and eat food crops. But the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, has openly disagreed with these governors calling their decision a potential breach of the 1999 Constitution and an opposition of rights.

Nigerians can boast of having the ability to provide all the beef they need to consume thanks to most of the cattle farming in Northern Nigeria. Cows, like every other farm animal, must be properly fed. Open grazing is an age long practice of moving these farm animals into open fields and bushes to enable them find pasture or foliage. It is actually a sustainable way to feed cattle, but it comes, with some drawbacks which compel herders to be responsible enough while leading their cows.

The problem with open grazing in Nigeria started when herders began to take less responsibility for where their cattle roamed. Cattle encroached into farmlands and ruined the yields of farmers, a few stubborn herders showed no remorse, angry farmers confronted these armed herders or killed the erring cows until it ultimately devolved into bloody conflicts. Then, it became a cycle. At this point, the word “herdsman” had assumed a notoriously negative connotation in Nigeria. There have also been noticeable cases of impostors among the cattle herders, criminals disguising as herders and functioning effectively as bandits and terrorists in unsuspecting communities. In the end, many of these affected communities cried out for an eviction of cattle and their armed herdsmen.

Abubakar Malami, Nigeria’s Attorney General and Minister of Justice, questioned the constitutionality of the resolution of the Southern Governors’ Forum in a Channels Television interview. Malami reminded Nigerians that no one can deny the rights of a Nigerian. The AGF singled out the right to freedom of movement and insisted that banning open grazing contravenes it. He went on to compare the decision of the southern governors with a situation where northern governors decide to ban the sales of auto spare parts in Northern states. “For example, it is as good as saying, perhaps, maybe, the northern governors coming together to say they prohibit spare parts trading in the north… Does it hold water? Does it hold water for a northern governor to come and state expressly that he now prohibits spare parts trading in the north?”

Of course not. It does not hold water — the AGF's comparison of ruminating cattle roaming farms and forest alike with inanimate spare parts kept stationary in stores. The Minister seems to forget that cattle are not Nigerian citizens whose right to freedom of movement must be protected.

In the same vein, Malami suggested that a constitutional amendment is necessary before 17 governors can make a unanimous decision to ban open grazing in their states for security reasons. A constitutional amendment just to restrict the movement of cows! As the Attorney General stumbles repeatedly in his bid to defend cattle herders and their cattle, do [does] his position not reveal his loyalty to sectional rather than national wellbeing?