Catholic priests in Benue State have rejected the Federal Government’s plan to include Benue in the pilot phase of its National Ranching Policy, declaring that ‘our land is not for sale and has never been on sale.’
The Nigeria Catholic Diocesan Priests Association (NCDPA), Makurdi Diocese, warned that imposing ranching on Benue, an ‘already bleeding and targeted state,’ amounts to a disguised agenda for land grabbing and the permanent displacement of indigenous communities.
This came as the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), in Benue State, described it as ‘provocative and unacceptable’ to imagine that the scarce land in Benue would be taken from farming communities and converted into grazing settlements.
The party, in a statement by Bright Antyo, its Publicity Secretary, argued that the best approach to modern ranching was for livestock owners to acquire land lawfully and establish ranches as private businesses just as farmers acquire land for agricultural enterprises.
Terfa Beba, Chairman of NCDPA, in a statement, quoted the priests as condemning what they described as the exclusion of the Benue State Government from the decision-making process.
‘Had the elected leadership of Benue State been genuinely consulted, we believe it would never have consented to any arrangement capable of undermining the rights, dignity, security and ancestral heritage of our people,’ the statement said.
The FG had announced that the pilot implementation of the National Ranching Policy would kick off at the Wase Grazing Reserve in Plateau State, with Benue listed among States for the rollout.
But, NCDPA said Benue, which had suffered years of killings, displacement and destruction of communities, cannot be used for such a policy.
‘We cannot accept a policy imposed upon a people whose communities have suffered killings, displacement, destruction and prolonged insecurity. Ranching must never become a disguised instrument for land grabbing, forced occupation or the permanent displacement of indigenous communities’, Beba said.
The Association threw its weight behind the position of the Bishop of Makurdi Diocese, Wilfred Chikpa Anagbe, whom it said, had ‘consistently and courageously spoken against this injustice.’
‘There is no going back on this as long as as we still draw breath,’ the priests declared.
The priests called on the Federal Government to respect the Constitutional Rights of Benue people and engage the State Government, traditional and community leaders transparently.
They demanded that displaced persons be enabled to return safely and take possession of their ancestral lands before any discussion on ranching.
‘Let this be on record: Benue is predominantly an agrarian state, not a pastoralist society. Ranching in Benue State is therefore NOT VIABLE, and WE REJECT THIS PROJECT IDEA WITH ALL LEGAL AND SPIRITUAL RESOURCES.
‘Our ancestral homes are not bargaining chips. Our people must return home. Benue must not be enslaved through policy. There will be no surrender of our ancestral heritage in whatever form or guise being proposed or presented’, the statement read.
Benue has in the last decade been at the centre of farmer-herder conflicts that have claimed thousands of lives and displaced hundreds of thousands. The State in 2017 enacted the Anti-Open Grazing Law to regulate livestock movement.
The priests insisted there is ‘no land in Benue State for commercial ranching.’
However, the opposition PDP further affirmed that the majority of people in the State depend on farming for survival, and with growing population and expanding communities, most farmers still struggle to obtain sufficient land.
‘The PDP wishes to state without ambiguity that Benue land is not available for grazing reserves, grazing settlements or any policy, whatever name it is given, that seeks to carve out portions of our ancestral lands for the exclusive settlement of herders.’
‘What we will never support is a scheme under which government takes land belonging to communities and farmers and converts it into grazing reserves or settlements for a particular group. There is no idle land in Benue State waiting to be donated for grazing reserves,’ it said.