Allow Movement Of Cattle In Anambra, Miyetti Allah Begs Soludo

Chairman of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MCBAN) in the South East zone, Alhaji Gidado Siddiki, has appealed to Anambra State governor Chukwuma Soludo to exclude ban on the movement of cattle on foot in the enforcement of the Anti-open Grazing Law.

Siddiki said banning the movement of cattle on foot across the state will unleash severe hardship on his members because, it would affect members’ sources of living.

The MACBAN leader was reacting to the disclosure by Governor Soludo during his meeting with members of the State Cattle Menace Committee at the Government House, Awka, weekend that strict implementation of the anti-open grazing law of the state passed by the state Assembly and signed into law by immediate past governor Willie Obiano in 2021 will commence this month, September, 2022.

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Soludo had during the meeting disclosed that his administration has set up mechanisms in motion to enforce compliance with the anti-open grazing law and that the law enforcement agents have been directed to implement it.
The governor was said to have expressed disappointment that cattle have been roaming everywhere in the state, including cities and rural areas in contravention of the anti-grazing law.
He, however, applauded members of the Anambra State Cattle Menace Committee for their devotion to duty, saying that Anambra people have largely lived in harmony with herdsmen, but the herdsmen must conduct their businesses within the ambit of extant laws.
Obiano had assented to the Cattle and Other Livestock Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Bill of Anambra State in 2021, but failed to enforce the ban.
Siddiki who reacted to Soludo’s directives yesterday, rather begged him to suspend the implementation at the moment to enable them educate their members the more on how to go about it.
He said, “Majority of us (Fulani) don’t know any business more than rearing of cattle in this world. Some of us were born and breed in this rearing of cattle business here in Anambra State. We have no other place to go.
“The herders are aware that the state governor has flagged off massive tree planting exercise in the 181 communities as part of measures to control the spread of gully erosion in the state, and as law abiding citizens, we have cautioned all our members and equally urged them to protect the trees in their various host communities.
“Our members have remained committed to peaceful coexistence with their host communities in the state and the South-east geopolitical zone at large.
“We therefore, call on concerned stakeholders, including the media to help us beg the governor, if possible, to reverse his decision on the ban,” Siddiki said.