• I Erected Fence After Invasion Of My 100-acre Plantation — Oyekoya• Bulk Of The Cows Are From Niger Republic, Chad, Others“We have never at anytime had any conflict or crisis with the herdsmen. Even last year, when we planted rice at Itoikin, we had to warn those operating around the axis not to move close to the farm and they obeyed. We have been able to forestall farmers-herders crisis in the state, due to the relationship we have with them.
“There are several cases of infractions that we have taken to the community heads, but they would later tell us that the cows we impounded on the farms are already dead. Crops on several hectares of farms have been destroyed. It is only when Obas, chiefs, high profile people in the society are made to cooperate with the farmers that the law will work.
Speaker, Mudashiru Obasa subsequently directed the Acting Clerk of the House, Mr. Olalekan Onafeko, to transmit a clean copy to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu for assent.Indeed, the signing of the anti-open grazing law by Governor Sanwo-Olu was borne out of the decision of Southern Governors’ Forum last August, which set September deadline to pass the law across member states, the bitter experiences of affected farmers must have also played a big role.
One of the farmers with strong conviction on this is Oyekoya, who was a victim of the herders’ invasion. His experience is not only sad but also pathetic, considering the magnitude of damage done to the crops. He said: “The herders have severally invaded my farms and on several occasions, we had verbal altercations, but I always succeeded in driving them away.
HOWEVER, some have expressed fears that the state’s economy might be negatively affected by the development, considering its position as the largest market for cattle in the country. Weeks ago, the cattle breeders had threatened that a cow could cost up to N2m in Lagos, if the anti-grazing bill is passed into law.
But Oyekoya, who was the Chairman, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry ’s agriculture sector, describes the MACBAN’s threat as a mere lie. “You have to understand that these herders will be willing to sell their livestock by all means, so the threat will not hold. It should also be remembered that most of these cows are not from Nigeria, but from Niger Republic, Chad and other neighbouring countries.
About time as this will stop opportunistic unpatriotic foreign herdsmens men from the Sahel using open grazing opportunity to carry out terrors on farmers in this nation
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