Pan- Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, has said that the insistence of the President Muhammadu Buhari- led Federal Government on re-opening the so-called grazing routes shows its duplicity, dishonesty and draconian tendencies, adding that the posturing further underscored the extent of the disdain and contempt that the administration had for Nigerians.

The group gave this view on Sunday, in a statement issued by its spokesperson, Comrade Jare Ajayi, describing that the tone of the phrase “only buildings and infrastructure that are of public importance will be spared” coming from the government as “draconian, arrogant and certainly not in tune with the democratic dispensation we pretend to be running.

“The insistence of the present administration on re-opening the so-called grazing routes shows the duplicity, dishonesty and the draconian tendencies of the government. The insistence also further underscores the extent of the disdain and contempt that this administration has for the people.

“The tone of the phrase ‘only buildings and infrastructure that are of public importance will be spared’ is draconian, arrogant and certainly not in tune with the democratic dispensation we pretend to be running,” it said.

According to Afenifere, given the attitude of those in positions of power in the country, it does not trust that the government will be fair in determining buildings and infrastructure that are of public importance, saying if any administration was to be given a benefit of the doubt, certainly not the one under Buhari especially going by its tendency to go against the public will.

“Normally, government policies are supposed to be for the people. The majority of the people across the country have embraced ranching. Even the Minister of Agriculture Nanono disclosed that 22 states plus the Federal Capital Territory have agreed to provide land for grazing.

“He went further to give names of the states, including the 400,000 hectares of land already said to have been provided by various states,” the group said. Since the preponderance of opinion across the country is to go the modern way, which is ranching, why should the government insist on resuscitating what has become anachronistic? it queried.

Afenifere further queried what is more after it had been established that the so-called grazing routes did not exist in all the states in the country, while a director in the Ministry of Agriculture, Ms Winne Lai-Solarin, was quoted as saying that the areas where structures had been erected would be spared.

However, the pan- Yoruba group expressed doubt on the assurance, saying “once they started on mapping out the route they might not stop and would want to go the whole hog.

“Reopening the grazing routes is unacceptable on any grounds. In any case, there were no grazing routes in the Western part of the country, including many other parts of Southern Nigeria.

“In view of the present reality, the government may be setting the country on fire if it insists on re-opening the so-called ‘grazing routes’. Only ranching done by individuals is acceptable,” Afenifere insisted.

(Nigerian Tribune)

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