What can bring Peace? Open Grazing: An Invisible Violence in Nigeria
Overview
Open grazing practice is characteristically an invisible violence as
well as a visible trigger of violence in Nigeria. It causes harm and violates
people’s sense of security, belonging, and emotional postures because of the
entrenched behaviours and by power wielding ruling elites. Watching several
herds of cattle trooping along your farm is never a good sight. It is a
distressing view. Immediately, it generates emotional disturbances, reveals the
economic hegemony in the political sphere, engenders distrust, provokes
frustration and remonstrate economic injustice in the system. It becomes
impossible to exist as a citizen because such an invisible violence is irredeemable,
and pervasive on one hand, and appears non-consequential on the other.
Open grazing practice is also a visible trigger for violence.
The cattle eat or destroy farmers’ crops,
the farmers chase the cattle away. The herders invade the farmers’ homes. The
farmers and the herders engage in battles. The cattle die, farms are destroyed,
homes are destroyed, and people are killed.
Persistent conflicts in Nigeria border around natural resources: land,
water, forests, animals, and minerals. These natural resources, one can argue
are the reasons for different calls for cessation of one or two ethnic groups
from other ethnic groups that make up Nigeria.
This writing will follow this outline:
1. What can bring Peace?
In Nigeria for example, farmers and herders have engaged in violent clashes
that has resulted in more than 1300 deaths and about 300,000 have been
displaced in their homes. The past administration just ‘stood back and stood by’
while lives were wasted, crops destroyed, and people became refugees in their
own states in so-called ‘peace time.’ The effect is brutal. Because there was
no security, farmers could not farm. Because farmers did not farm, there is no
food in the entire country. Because there is no production of food, the entire
country is hungry. Because there were no crops to sell, the treasury is empty.
To prevent this from happening and to proffer solutions, the national
assembly in this current administration are about to pass a bill called:
National Animal Husbandry and Ranches Commission sponsored by Senator Titus
Tartenger Zam. The bill is meant to manage, regulate, and preserve cattle
rearing and ranching in Nigeria. The bill also will prohibit open grazing in
Nigeria and make it a punishable offence by the law. The bill equally will
establish ranches in the states of origin of pastoralists.
In a visibly divided country like Nigeria, though, the bill is sternly
criticised by some of the senators from the northern part of the country, it
passed its second hearing and is now with the Senate Committee on Agriculture,
Judiciary, and Legal Matters for reviews.
This move will help lessen or prevent the constant and violent clashes
between the herders and farmers, stem other allied visible triggers of
violence, such as heinous crimes (sporadic killings), religious bigotry and
ethnic conflicts.
If the bill passes, Nigeria will have a ranching system of rearing livestock
in the north, which exists already in southern Nigeria. In southern Nigeria,
goats, sheep and cows are kept in pens and shelters. What are the differences
between open grazing and ranching?
2. Open Grazing and Ranching
There are some major challenges and benefits associated with open grazing
and ranching.
Free Movement and Land Use
In open grazing, cattle are allowed to freely move around a large,
unprotected areas of land. This is known as natural pasture, but it is
effective in regions with enormous vast swathes of countryside.
Ranching is the direct opposite of open grazing. In this case, cattle
are secured within a designated vast swathe of land. The cattle are controlled
and managed properly with supplementary feeding and care.
Animal Husbandry
In open grazing, the cattle are at the mercy of predators, diseases, and
harsh weather conditions. Also, open grazing can help in spreading of cow
diseases because infected cattle are not contained within to be properly
monitored.
While ranching provides better protection and care for the cattle,
including medical, shelter, warmth, and extra feeding.
Economic Factor
In open grazing, the herder does not need to construct fences, or
shelters for the cattle. In essence, it costs nothing to have the cattle in
open swathes of lands. But this practice exposes the herders to risks of losing
their cattle or even having constant conflicts with other landowners.
Ranching on the other hand can be capital intensive. The herders would
construct fences, shelters, and even employ staff to manage and feed the herds.
But it has some benefits, this practice would produce healthier cattle, higher
productivity, and prevent the corrosive use of the land.
Environmental Factor
Open grazing can lead to overgrazing, degradation of natural vegetation,
soil erosion, and conflicts with farmers for incursions into their lands.
While ranching will help protect the land, limit the areas of land that are
exposed to soil erosion, and reduce environmental degradation.
Conflict Management
Open grazing is a visible trigger of violence. As such, it can lead to
conflicts between herders and farmers over rights to land, water and
vegetations. If cattle are in ranches, this will minimize the incessant conflicts
between herders and farmers and encourage neighbourliness, peace and harmony.
As noted above, each practice has its benefits and challenges. But
choosing the lesser evil is always a better option. The lesser evil is
ranching, hence the Senate thought that the bill would bring peace between the
herders and farmers, prevent killings, encourage farmers to go back to their
farms to continue to feed the nation.
Summary
The following is a summary of the key points about ‘What can bring
Peace? Open Grazing: An Invisible Violence in Nigeria’:
Open grazing practice is an invisible violence. It can also be a visible
trigger of violence in Nigeria.
The new bill: The Senate has taken a bold step to challenge the status
quo by proposing a bill known as National Animal Husbandry and Ranches
Commission to manage, regulate, and preserve cattle rearing and ranching in
Nigeria.
Open grazing and ranching: This writing pointed out some benefits and
challenges of both practices but concludes that out of the two evils, ranching
will help promote peaceful co-existence between the herders and farmers.
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