The Pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation Afenifere, on Sunday, disagreed with President Muhammadu Buhari’s on his stand on the contentious issue of open grazing, appointment of key officials into government institutions, and the state of security in the nation since his assumption of office.
Afenifere’s position was a reaction to the statements made by the President in interviews he granted, fist to Arise TV on Thursday, and state-owned NTA on Friday, as well as his Democracy Day speech on Saturday.
In a statement issued by Comrade Jare Ajayi, Afenifere’s National Publicity Secretary, the organization expressed its astonishment at the disclosure by Buhari that he had directed the Attorney-General of the Federation Minister of Justice to ‘re-open’ the grazing routes throughout the country. In the interview, Buhari said the grazing routes were created in the colonial period and must be retrieved from those who have trespassed into them.
Afenifere asked the president for clarifications on this.
“We have some questions for Mr. President and the Attorney General in this respect. One, who created the so-called grazing routes? At what time in our history did our founding fathers gather to designate specific routes from the north to the south as ‘grazing routes’? Two, assuming without conceding, that there were so-called grazing routes, what would now happen to structures that have been built in areas where the so-called routes are to be re-opened? Would such structures, including residences and factories, be pulled down so that cows would have places to graze? Compared to what would be lost economically, socially, politically, and in security terms if these structures are to be pulled down, is it not better to encourage the building of ranches? We can go on and on”.
According to Afenifere, Buhari’s declaration on the grazing issue as well as his confession on how he determines who occupy positions at the national level seems to indicate that Buhari’s government is operating a constitution that is different from the one that we all are aware of, that is, the 1999 Constitution as amended.
“For instance, Section 2 of the Land Use Act, the law governing land matters in the country, vests the administration and control of lands in a given state in the hands of the governor of the state. It is such that even when the federal government wants to use a portion of land, it has to seek the consent of the governor of the state concerned. Since most governors in the country have outlawed open grazing in their respective states, on which land does the federal government want to ‘open’ or ‘re-open’ its vaunted grazing routes? Why talking of grazing routes in this age when ranching is the fad in all civilized climes?”
‘’Since most governors in the country have outlawed open grazing in their respective states, on which land does the Federal Government wants to ‘open’ or ‘re-open’ its vaunted grazing routes? Why talking of grazing routes in this age when ranching is the fad in all civilized climes?” Afenifere asked.
In the interview, Buhari had also claimed that the he appointed Major-General Farouk Yahaya as Chief of Army Staff because of his experience in combating insurgency.
He was reacting to criticism that trailed Yahaya’s appointment over several of his seniors in the Army.
Afenifere also faulted him on this claim, declaring that the appointment “like many others made by Buhari’s government, is in flagrant defiance of the federal character clause in the constitution as well as Section 5 (2) of the same constitution which states that “national integration shall be actively encouraged, whilst discrimination on the grounds of place of origin, sex, religion, status, ethnic or linguistic association or ties shall be prohibited”.
The organization declared that: “From all indications, only in a few instances does the Federal Government allow equity, fairness, and empirical merit to characterize the appointments he made. Thus, most of the appointments being made were done in such a way that some sections of the country were being alienated.”
To convince Nigerians that he means well for the country, Afenifere asked the President to urgently send a bill to the National Assembly on restructuring and devolution of power.
