Osun State government has said, signing of the Anti-Open Grazing Bill into law by southern governors is not to witch-hunt the Fulanis especially the herders across the states.
The Special Adviser to Osun State Governor on Civic Engagement, Mr. Olatunbosun Oyintiloye who made the clarification during a stakeholder meeting with Fulani herders in Osogbo, said enactment of the law banning open grazing was to secure everybody in the state.
Governor Oyetola explained that the law would make it easy to identify intruding herders who invade farms, while it would also guide the existing committee of the state government on Peaceful Coexistence between Fulani/Bororo and Crop Farmers, direct attention to promote the business and welfare of herders in the state.
He said the meeting was called to further enlighten the traditional herders about the law and also get feedback from them to know the next line of action in making it easy for them to abide by the law that had just been enacted.
Also speaking, the Osun State Commissioner for Agriculture, Dr. Adedayo Adewole, announced that Osun government had a ranch in the Oloba area where it would be training herders on modern methods of rearing cows and other animals that would increase yield and eliminate the wandering that often threaten security.
He called on them to corporate with the government on the new law banning open grazing.
In their responses, Secretary of the Cattle Breeders, Mr. Oluwatoyin Yusuf and the state Seriki, Alhaji Ibrahim Babatunde, said, they had been living in panic since the law was signed as a result of threats by some people.
They said now that the law had been properly explained to them, they were confident that government was only concerned about peace in the state as the law seeks to maintain the already existing good relationship among various groups of people in the state. Adenitan Akinola
