The convener of G17 civil
society/pressure group in Plateau, Hon. Dachung Bagos has raised alarm
on the stakeholder consultation process currently ongoing in Plateau
state.
In a press release to newsmen, Hon
Bagos pointed out that many civil society and pressure groups have been
left out of the consultation process and that only groups loyal to the
government have been hand picked to go and endorse the policy.
He also queried the non-inclusion of
farmers and community leaders in the circulated programme of
consultation by government, saying: In
view of the sensitive nature of the subject, we are of the strong
believe that government needs to widen the scope of its consultations so
as to adequately carry all stakeholders along. The usual elitist
approach of selecting cronies and political patrons without due regard
to the rural farming communities who will be affected directly by the
positive or negative consequences of the policy will not suffice. This
is because the breakdown in communal relationships between farmers and
herdsmen is at the rural level and it is our considered opinion, that
this is where government needs to win acceptance and trust for its
policies.
He said, since calling off the protest
of 13th June 2016, in line with agreement with security agencies (i.e.,
to give consultative dialogue a chance), that no dialogue, engagement
or discussion has happened. And that he doubts if any has so far been
planned because he remains unaware of such.
Speaking further, Bagos said, it would
appear that government has cherry-picked a few loyalists who will
endorse the grazing policy in order to give semblance of overall
agreement across Plateau state. He wondered why the policy which started
with the tag name “Grazing Reserves”, later changed to “Grazing Ranch”
and now metamorphosing to “Agricultural policy”, all in a bid sell it to
Plateau people.
He worried that such changes in name
may be a deliberate attempt at masking the true colour of the policy
from the Plateau population, he said the
nomenclature of the policy is being changed from Grazing Reserves to
something like agricultural reserve or farming village in a bid to get
it accepted. Either way, our opinion is that we must not allow such a
project in a conflict ravaged state like ours as it portends grave
danger for the future. If government is not sure of what it is going
into, it is safer to save the future now.
Furthermore, he called on the
government to consider widening its scope of the consultations so that
all relevant bodies can be represented.
In closing, Bagos said failure to
allow fair consultation and dialogue may mean the G17 group will have to
mobilise the youths again for a sit-in/Occupy Plateau protest until
fair trading is done.
Full text of Hon Dachung Bagos’ press release is outlined below:
You are aware of our agitation on
the need for the Plateau State government to delist Plateau from the
list of states said to have provided lands for the development of
grazing reserves. That sole act led to our peaceful protest on 13th
June, 2016 and its eventual suspension (for a week) following an
intervention from security agencies, citing the need for extensive
consultation with government.
Having waited on government to come clean on the matter, to no avail – we posit as follows:
1. In view of the sensitive nature
of the subject, we are of the strong believe that government needs to
widen the scope of its consultations so as to adequately carry all
stakeholders along. The usual elitist approach of selecting cronies and
political patrons without due regard to the rural farming communities
who will be affected directly by the positive or negative consequences
of the policy will not suffice. This is because the breakdown in
communal relationships between farmers and herdsmen is at the rural
level and it is our considered opinion, that this is where government
needs to win acceptance and trust for its policies.
2. Despite the persistent calls on
government to be forthcoming with information and details on the
proposed policy, we have consistently witness or heard discordant tunes
from government officials. Besides that, the concept which started with
the name GRAZING Reserves, has now metamorphosed into GRAZING RANCHES or
RANCHES and recently the governor, while addressing Plateau Indigenes
in diaspora seemed to be talking about FARM settlement where both
farmers and herdsmen will co-exist. The seeming confusion and lack of
clarity leaves much to be desired from a government which prides itself
on being guided by the principle of “participatory governance”, as it
makes it difficult for citizens to contribute meaningfully to the debate
and efforts at adopting a widely acceptable policy. There is today,
clear misconceptions concerning the policies government wants to
implement.
3. We have not in any way seen the
Federal government policy document and our investigations revealed that
no clear policy document has been developed to define how its
implementation will guarantee the much needed peaceful coexistence
between farmers and herdsmen. What remains evident is governments desire
to come up with state funded remedies to cushion the hardships nomads
face without due consideration to the recent escalation in attacks by
herdsmen on farming communities under the guise of cattle rustling and
how it has negativity affected communal relationships. Suffice to say,
that the parchments of information available, rather than points to a
lasting solution to the age old conflict between farmers and herdsmen,
seems more a move towards further degeneration of the crisis as farming
communities view it as an attempt to reward those that have killed and
displaced them from the homes while government watches without any
success in apprehending those behind the dastardly acts.
4. Information from the grapevines
suggests that the Plateau State government has already gone ahead with
its plan on the grazing reserves and is presently on a window dressing
engagement, similar to the IBB regimes IMF loan debates of the 1980s.
Government is presently engaging stakeholders with a view to securing
support for a decision it has already taken and will implement
regardless of the outcome of the consultations it is currently carrying
out. This has been confirmed from the pronouncements by the minister of
Agriculture who clearly stated that the ministry wrote to states on the
need to provide land for the development of grazing reserves and 11
states responded with Plateau state in the lead with a confirmation of
5,000 hectares of land.
5. The Governor’s interaction with
Plateau diaspora citizens also reveals that 4000 NSCDC personnel have
already been approved by President Buhari as part of security measures
for the herdsmen in the said Ranches/reserves.
6. It also appears, that the state
government is eager to benefit from the 2 Billion Naira funding loan
for the project and is therefore abdicating its responsibility of
ensuring that only policies that will benefit the vast majority of it’s
citizens (who are predominantly farmers), as well as ensure their safety
and survival in view of recent attacks by herdsmen across the country
is considered .
7. Dear comrades, the nomenclature
of the policy is being changed from Grazing Reserves to something like
agricultural reserve or farming village in a bid to get it accepted.
Either way, our opinion is that we must not allow such a project in a
conflict ravaged state like ours as it portends grave danger for the
future. If government is not sure of what it is going into, it is safer
to save the future now.
We therefore call for proper
consultation and a Referendum on this issue, away from a stage managed
consultation or we will be left with no choice but to call citizens of
like minds to once again “occupy Plateau” in a sit down peaceful
protest till the right thing is done.
Thank you
Plateau Youth G17 peace and progressive forum
Culled From ViewpointNigeria