Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State, in Adamawa State on a visit Tuesday, said the way out of persistent herder-farmer clashes is ranching.
The Kaduna State Governor, who spoke to newsmen shortly after a call on his host, Governor Ahmadu Fintiri at the Government House in Yola, insisted that open grazing of cattle is no longer realistic.
Stating that ranching or some other form of controlled grazing has always been preferable, he said such was what he grew up to believe in.
El-Rufai said, “I am a Fulani man. Today, I’m the governor of Kaduna State because I went to school. My parents were settled in one place breeding their livestock.”
He said northern governors are for ranching and have resolved to establish one ranch in each state and provide incentives to convince herders to start ranching their livestock.
“The ranching system has so many advantages. For one, it enables children of herders to go to school and have access to quality education like any other Nigerian.”
He expressed the worry however that a sizeable ranching facility for every northern state is a costly venture and for northern governors to achieve their dream of establishing ranches, they need the federal government to assist them with funding.
El-Rufai berates open cattle grazing, says ranching only way forward
