Buhari’s cattle grazing approach not in tune with modern trends – Akeredolu

GOVERNOR Rotimi Akeredolu has described President Buhari’s position on open grazing as out of tune with modern way of thinking.

The President had on Thursday during an interview canvassed the recovery of open grazing system used during the First Republic, which allowed herdsmen to use designated grazing routes to move their cattle to several parts of the country.

Speaking during an interview on Arise TV, Buhari said he had asked the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, to begin the process of recovering land from persons who have converted cattle grazing routes to their personal use.

But Akeredolu, who addressed the audience at a June 12 Memorial Lecture in Akure yesterday, pointed out that cattle grazing routes do not align with current trends in the 21st century.

The governor said: “Where we are now, the Dome, something was here before, so now are we going to bring it back and reinstate what was here before?”

“Or where the Deji of Akure’s Palace is now, you say that it is a grazing route and we have to remove the palace for grazing route? We can’t do that now.

“Things are changing and there has to be a paradigm shift.

“Ethiopia has about 200 million cattle and you won’t see them on the streets. They are located in the hinterlands designated for grazing.”