Osun State Government Rejects Cattle Colony Idea From FG Regarding Fulani Herdsmen

Osun State Government Rejects Cattle Colony Idea From FG Regarding Fulani Herdsmen

The Osun State Government has rejected the cattle colony idea being proposed by the Federal Government.

The establishing of cattle colonies idea

was brought up by the Federal

Government in a bid to address the

continuous killing of farmers by Fulani

herdsmen across the country. However,

the Commissioner for Information and

Strategy in Osun State, Mr. Adelani

Baderinwa, on Thursday, said the state

government would not buy into the idea.

The Commissioner disclosed that the

Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola,

had foreseen the kind of herders-

farmers’ crisis being witnessed in many

states and had already established a

committee comprising of government

officials, farmers and herdsmen to

quickly resolve whatever issue that

might come up.

According to Baderinwa, the committee

had been in existence for almost two

years, and had already resolved

thousands of cases, and that it’s the

reason why there had been no

herdsmen – farmers’ clashes in the

state.

The commissioner said, “The truth is that we have gone ahead of that long before the current crisis in some parts of the country happened. We have a committee of Yoruba and Fulani which is overseeing the issue of farm destruction by livestock and other related issues.

“There is understanding between the two groups. The understanding is that no cattle rearer should graze their livestock into any farm and if this happens, the herder will pay for the destruction.

“If a new herder is entering into Osun from any part of the country, such person will be taken to the head of the Fulani and he will be registered and be included among those whose activities will be monitored by they committee. Members of the committee know everyone and I believe it is a great job.

“That is what we have put in place in order to prevent this kind of crisis and it is working. We are hoping that there won’t be any intruder to disrupt the peace we have been enjoying for more than one and a half years. So, I don’t think that the proposed creation of cattle colonies will be necessary for us in Osun State.”