Ezeife, Nwodo, Madubuike, EzeIgbo of FCT Abuja & Igbo Leaders of Thought Reject “Cattle Colony”, Insist on Restructuring

After due deliberations, an Igbo leadership caucus released a press statement on January 25, 2017 in Abuja encapsulating their thoughts on matters of crucial importance in addressing pressing national issues. Full text of the press release is published below:

The Igbo Leaders of Thought, Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, met recently in Abuja and deliberated on some vexatious issues affecting Nigeria, especially Ndiigbo, and other ethnic nationalities especially the trending and controversial and unresolved Cattle Colony issues and resolved as follows:

1. We reject without equivocation the proposed establishment of Cattle Colonies in any part of Igbo land.

2. That the proposed Cattle Colony is not only conservative, retrogressive and obnoxious; It is also parasitic, anachronistic and anti- people; it is not in sync nor in tandem with international and modern best practices in an era where technological advancement has made livestock raising a pleasure rather than a punitive and hazardous enterprise.

3. That the governors, as the chief executives of the states, hold the land in their states in trust for the people. They have no moral rights to give out any land for whimsical reasons, fancy or grandstanding. Governors in Igboland are, therefore, advised in their own interest not to give out any land in Alaigbo for Cattle Colony as our people will vehemently resist it.

4. That the social media reports and some rumors making the round that a governor in Igbo land is a contemplating donating 10,000 hectares of land for Cattle Colony had better remain at the realm of rumor mongering because Ndiigbo will resist any such undemocratic and unpopular action.

5. That the Southeast is unarguably one of the most densely populated regions in sub-Saharan Africa, and constant pressure on the land has resulted to the prevalence of gully erosion in the zone. Any additional pressure and appropriation of land through the creation of political “Cattle Colonies” will aggravate rather than ameliorate the situation and further reduce the hitherto insufficient arable farmlands for our people. It should be remembered that our people still practice shifting cultivation. This means that a parcel of land is left to fallow and to recover before cultivating it again. Therefore, allowing the farmland to rest does not mean it is unutilized.

6. We observe with dismay that the Federal Government has not shown enough concern on the unprecedented wanton destruction of lives and property across the country because the perpetrators of these heinous crimes are yet to be arrested, prosecuted and punished according to the laws of the land.

7. That we condole with the Government and people of Benue State on the recent massacre of over 73 indigenous inhabitants of the Benue River Valley. We also extend our regrets to all other persons or group of persons throughout the federation that have suffered loss of lives and property through the activities of the trigger-happy rampaging Fulani herdsmen militia. We urge the relevant authorities to institute adequate measures to avert future occurrences.

   

   President Muhammadu Buhari is the archetypal Fulani who loves cattle more than his fellow humans. Despite all the depraved butchery of indigenous peoples of Benue, the Nigerian president has not done anything different to safeguard lives of Middle Belters where ethnic cleansing by Fulani herdsmen militia has reached unprecedented levels.

8. Top countries that produce the best beef and milk across the world do so not in colonies, but in ranches. We can only do well if we follow their examples.

9. That we endorse fully the spirit of brotherhood, mutual understanding and values appreciation and respect  embodied in the resolutions of the recent Handshake Across the Niger conference in Enugu. We believe that the faithful implementation of these constitutive resolutions will further enhance ethnic rapprochement, libertarian rights, national unity and development.

10. That we assert unequivocally that the immediate restructuring of the polity involving the devolution of powers to the states is imperative for the peaceful co-existence of the different ethnic nationalities that were bundled together by the imperial overlord without their consent. An over-bloated and centralized center, far removed from the units that gave it power, will always function in fits and starts when it fails to surrender sufficient portions of its powers to the sub-nationals in matters that are essentially local. We will restructure Nigeria not only for ourselves but, more importantly, for our children and grandchildren to increase their social opportunities and substantive freedoms.