President Muhammadu Buhari succumbed to pressure on Wednesday by suspending the controversial Ruga settlement scheme, designed to settle the Fulani and their cattle on acquired land across states in the federation.
The suspension was announced in Abuja after governors representing the six geopolitical zones of the country met with Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The Chairman of the National Committee on Food Security/Herders/Farmers Conflicts and Governor of Ebonyi State, Mr Dave Umahi, disclosed the government’s decision to news men after the meeting.
Besides Umahi, others at the meeting included Plateau State Governor, Mr Simon Lalong; Governor of Kebbi State, Atiku Bagudu; and the Deputy Governor of Adamawa State, Mr Martins Nasir.
Umahi explained that the controversial Ruga policy was not consistent with the National Livestock Transformation Plan, which was earlier deliberated upon and approved by the National Economic Council. Osinbajo is the Chairman of the NEC.
The Ebonyi State governor spoke further, “We, the NEC committee on farmers/herders crises under the chairmanship of His Excellency, Mr Vice-President, met today to deliberate on the approved programme of NEC and the Federal Government, tagged ‘National Livestock Transformation Programme.’
“We are aware today that Mr President has suspended the implementation of the Ruga programme, initiated and being implemented by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
“(This is) because it is not consistent with the NEC and the Federal Government-approved National Livestock Transformation plan, which has programmes of rehabilitation of internally displaced persons resulting from crises and also the development of ranches in any willing state of the federation. The word is willing state of the federation.
“The beauty of the National Livestock Transformation plan is that what NEC and the FG approved is a voluntary programme for all the 36 states that like to participate. So, it is not compulsory; it is for any state that is willing to key into the programme.
“Any state that is interested in this programme is required to bring up a development plan that is keyed toward the implementation in line with our own programme here that is unique to his state, based on the challenges that he has in respect of the crisis. That is the decision of this committee.”
The government had last week named 12 states as the pilot states for the Ruga scheme, resulting in immediate nationwide outcry.
The states mentioned included Sokoto, Adamawa, Nasarawa, Kaduna, Kogi, Taraba, Katsina, Plateau, Kebbi, Zamfara and Niger.
Wednesday’s meeting of the committee was the first after the President’s inauguration on May 29.
Last week, as the Ruga project generated tension in the country, the VP’s office quickly denied that Osinbajo was supervising the implementation of the scheme.
The Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the Vice-President, Mr Laolu Akande, in a statement, said the VP only knew about the NLTP and not Ruga.
He stated, “The National Livestock Transformation Plan 2019-2028 is a programme to be implemented in seven pilot states of Adamawa, Benue, Kaduna, Plateau, Nasarawa, Taraba and Zamfara (as decided by NEC in January), being states in the front lines of the Farmer-Herder crises. Afterwards, six other states have indicated readiness to also implement the plan. They are Katsina, Kano, Kogi, Kwara, Ondo, and Edo states.
Akande gave other details, “The plan has six pillars through which it aims to transform the livestock production system in Nigeria along market-oriented value chain while ensuring an atmosphere of peace and justice.
“The six key pillars include, economic investment, conflict resolution, justice and peace, humanitarian relief and early recovery, human capital development and cross-cutting issues such as gender, youth, research and information and strategic communication.”
But, on his own part, Buhari’s spokesman, Mr Garba Shehu, stated that Ruga and the NLTP were “semantics”, as both meant the same thing.
Ortom commends Buhari for suspending ruga settlement
Meanwhile, the suspension of the Ruga herdsmen settlements on Wednesday generated different reactions. While the Ohanaeze Ndigbo called on the Federal Government to disarm herdsmen, the Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, commended the President.
Ortom, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Terver Akase, described the suspension of the Ruga settlement project by the Federal Government as victory for all peace-loving Nigerians.
The governor stated that the rejection of the Ruga project was not personal but rather a struggle by the people of the country against impunity and injustice.
The governor said that the decision to suspend the Ruga scheme showed that the President had heard the voices of the majority of Nigerians on the matter.
“He states that truth has prevailed on the Ruga issue, citing the Bible book of John 8:32, which says, “You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.”
“Governor Ortom urges the Federal Government to take a step further to encourage pastoralists and other livestock owners to embrace ranching as the best model of animal husbandry,” parts of the statement read
