Senator urges Buhari to sign executive order to ban open grazing

A MEMBER of the Senate representing Ogun West Senatorial District, Tolulope Odebiyi, has asked President Buhari to show his willingness to tackle the herdsmen menace by signing an executive order to ban open grazing.

Odebiyi made this known during plenary on Wednesday while lamenting the influx of criminal herdsmen into Nigeria from neighbouring countries.

The senator said, “It is an indictment on our leadership that people are coming into Nigeria to rape, maim and kill our people. It is upsetting and we must rise up to this occasion. I raise that the President need to speak and calm the nation.

“The President can sign an Executive Order banning open grazing. There are actions that he can take immediately but nothing is being done.”

Odebiyi’s recommendation is coming two days after Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka made a similar suggestion while featuring on BBC pidgin.

Soyinka had urged President Buhari to condemn in clear terms the criminal activities of herdsmen to show that he is not complicit in their nefarious activities.

Though the Senate did not include Odebiyi’s motion in its resolutions, the upper chamber, however, observed a minute silence in honour of all victims of insurgency, banditry, herdsmen-farmers clashes, and other security challenges.

The Senate resolved to “urge the State Governors to re-invigorate rural governance and convene state-wide inter-communal conclaves and dialogues to promote local conflict resolution and inter-ethnic harmony.”

It also “urge the Federal Government to immediately embark on an operation to checkmate proliferation of firearms and enforce the laws against illegal possession of firearms by arresting, disarming and punishing anyone in illegal possession of arms.”

The Senate further “urge the State Governors to implement the National Livestock Transformation Plan which is a modern scheme designed to eliminate transhumance in order to prevent farmer-herder conflicts and activate highly productive livestock sector in Nigeria.”