ENUGU—A few Igbo communities are now at odds with their state administrations over a purported plan to introduce RUGA into their territories. The residents of Nimbo in the Uzo Uwani Council Area of Enugu State have been demonstrating against what they perceive to be a state government proposal for an RUGA community in their neighborhood. The Aro-Ngwa people of Abia State have rejected what they also perceive to be RUGA established by the state administration.
South-East’s RUGA dispute
They argued that their people’s lives would be at jeopardy as a result of the deal.
In response, a well-known monarch from Abia State named Eze Philip Ajomiwe expressed his doubt that any governor in the area would consider RUGA at a time when the people in the area lack even land for cultivation. Renowned cassava grower Ajomiwe declared: “Our governments should not be unaware of RUGA.” There is not enough land for us. We are searching for agricultural land.
No governor from the South-East will likely attempt it, in my opinion. Food imports into their states are prohibited by the policies of seven governors in the north. Our conversation need to be on giving our people access to land so they may resume farming, just like Dr. Michael Okpara did. Instead of supporting RUGA, our governors ought to urge their people to go back to farming.
A professor of political science, Obasi Igwe condemned any plots by any government in the region to build RUGA or cattle settlement.
He said such action would amount to a deliberate provocative decision against the people, and cautioned that no governor, traditional ruler, or any community leader should cede any land for such.
“RUGA settlements are neither a priority nor a welcome development anywhere in today’s Nigeria outside of the states that produce cattle and had long been advised to encourage modern ranching techniques.
Anyone reintroducing anything RUGA in the region is either being deliberately provocative or diversionary.”
Under the banner of the Coalition of South-East Youth Leaders, or C O S E Y L, Igbo youths responded to this by rejecting the concept, stating: “There is no land for RUGA anywhere in the South-East.” Comrade Goodluck Ibem, the National President of C O S E Y L, declared that Igbo youths would not accept land contributions for C a t l e settlement from any portion of Igbo territory. “There is no land for RUGA in the Southeast,” he declared. We don’t grant land to private companies in the Southeast. Everyone in the South-East should receive land if the government is providing land for RUGA.
“We have been working to prevent insecurity, and anyone attempting to donate land for RUGA is inviting it.” This is tantamount to extending an invitation to chaos and disorder. We cannot accept it because it is an invitation to slaughter more of our indigenous people. There have been enough deaths of our people, COSEYL said.
Nwokeabia warns the government of Enugu “There is uproar ongoing in Uzo-Uwani Council of Enugu State concerning an alleged planned ranch/RUGA settlement by the Government of Enugu State,” stated Dr. John Nwokeabia, a political leader in Enugu State, in response to the situation. I’ve read that the Enugu government has denied the RUGA settlement rumors. According to them, the planned relocation is meant for ranching needs. Resistance is inevitable if the people immediately impacted by the project are not included in decision-making processes at any point, regardless of how well-intentioned the government may be.
Effective communication and stakeholder engagement is important. “The massacre by marauding Fulani herdsmen in Nimbo town a few years ago is still fresh in our minds. The security situation in that local government is still dicey, much more when the town borders Kogi State. Implementing a RUGA/ Ranching policy now in Uzo- Uwani is not a good strategy. I implore Governor Mba’s administration to temporarily suspend this project and engage the people to find a lasting solution to the criminal activities of cattle herders who have killed their people and devastated their farmlands,” he advised.
Chief Johnson Okolo cautioned against any plans to establish a livestock colony for the herders under any pretext. The herders were said to have ruined Chief Johnson Okolo’s substantial agricultural investment at Amofia Agu, Affa in the Udi Council Area of Enugu State.
Okolo asserts, “RuGA owns the ranches that are being developed; it is not the administrations of the South-East or the State of Enugu. Any state in the South-East, including Enugu State, that plans to acquire land for ranching is only preparing to establish RUGA.
The governors ought not to attempt problem-solving by problem-solving.Giving herders any land for ranching or RUGA just invites conflict. Governors from the South-East, and the Enugu State Government in particular, ought to flee from it. “I am a victim; Fulani herders destroyed my plantation at Amofia Agu Affa in Udi Council, Enugu State, and took over the land for more than four years. I lost almost 6,000 palm trees in that plantation. Since herders took over the plantation as a settlement four years ago, I haven’t visited my palm plantation in my community.The governors need to confront the needless insecurity that is destroying the area.
The goal should be to disarm herders who threaten local landowners with weapons in order to drive them away. The people in the Southeast are capable of caring for cattle and cows; we are capable of managing cows. Any government, even Enugu’s, need to purchase cows for its citizens to raise. People have established ranches for them, and they are prepared to have better and more secure lives. Gov. of Abia states there is no intention to create RUGA. However, the idea for an RUGA at Aro-Ngwa, in the Isiala Ngwa South Council Area, has been rejected by the Abia State Government.
They claimed to be constructing a trailer park. Following a string of demonstrations by the Aro-Ngwa community, who claimed that the state government was preparing to create RUGA on their territory, the administration issued its clarification. Chaka Chukwumerije, the Commissioner for Lands and Housing, clarified, however, that the state government is working with the federal government to build a trailer park rather than clearing the site at Aro-Ngwa for RUGA. “The project is intended to create revenue for the state and relieve traffic near the Umuika junction, Owerrinta bridge, and Osisioma Ngwa roundabout.” It is unrelated to the allegations made about RUGA. The commissioner said, “It is a typical trailer park; it is not a settlement, but a center of business.
The government of Enugu State has refuted rumors that it intends to create an RUGA colony in Nimbo. However, the government acknowledged that it intended to create contemporary ranches as part of its goal for agroindustrial output, claiming that this would assist stop the actions of criminals who pose as herders and kidnappers.
In outlining the government’s stance, Commissioner for Information Eze Aka stated that using the ranch to “further stem the tide of kidnapping and clashes between our border people and the herders” is “a good initiative of government.” “The state of Enugu is not and will not undertake any RUGA projects in any area of the state. RUGA is not the ranch.It is now required to clarify issues pertaining to the plan for raising cattle through ranching, a contemporary technique used worldwide.
Recent social media posts that have gone viral and some people’s outcry against what they believed to be government plans to seize land in Uzo-Uwani LGA and turn it over to the Fulani under the guise of RUGA are regrettably the product of those looking to create a political mountain out of a molehill.
“The government’s purpose is very clear in this regard. For years, armed robbers and abductors have used our farms and woods as cover for horrific crimes including rapes, murders, and kidnappings carried out in the guise of herders. The Enugu State government has made the decision to end these practices and implement ranching, which is the most advanced method of raising cattle. “No cattle herder or dealer shall be permitted to wander their animals for grazing throughout non-designated areas after it is established.”
