A human rights group, International Society for
Civil Liberties and the Rule of Law (Intersociety), and a prominent chief in
Ibadan land, Oyo State, Dr. Taiye Ayorinde, yesterday called on the federal
government to completely cancel its proposed Ruga policy, saying suspending it is nothing but sitting
on a keg of gun powder.
The 84-year-old Baale of Ekotedo in Ibadan, who
wondered how the issue of cattle rearing, a private business concern, has
suddenly turned to government business, said President Muhammadu Buhari
administration is pushing the country to a point of destruction if it fails to
cancel the programme.
Ayorinde, while speaking at the presentation of
Obafemi Awolowo Leadership Award to him as the most outstanding Baale in Yoruba
land by the Congress of Nigerian Youths (CONYO) on Wednesday, said the federal government
can do the country a lot of good by canceling the Ruga programme rather than
suspending it and waiting for another convenient time to reintroduce it under a
different name.
He referred to the pronouncement of late Justice
Adewale Thompson, which declared that anyone who must keep animals must provide
house for them and avoid roaming of animals in the streets anywhere in Nigeria.
According to the traditional ruler, "Why is it
that we have a government which will not listen to its citizens and obey the
law? The law stipulates that on no account should animals be found roaming
about without the owner providing housing for them. He must provide a barn or
ranch for the animals. That is the law of the land, and we expect this
government to apply the law to ensure peace."
Ayorinde, a member of Ibadan Elders Council, said
no parcel of land in Yoruba land would be donated to herdsmen, adding that
"every land in South-west region was by inheritance, passed on by our
forefathers, and you cannot come from somewhere and say you want to take any
land. As one of those who attended the last Yoruba Summit, it was our
collective decision there that it is not possible to ‘Rugalise’ Yoruba land.
The federal government is advised therefore to cancel outright the Ruga
programme and not just suspend it."
Also, the National President of Congress of
Nigerian Youths, Ambassador Oluyomi Oloyede, extolled the virtues of Ayorinde,
describing him as a great achiever who has brought hope to the hopeless.
“Not that Baba has millions of naira, but with his
little means, he has uplifted many and fed the hungry. We have identified the
recipient as someone who has given hope to the hopeless without millions of
naira, but with what he is getting as pension, he is using it to uplift the
needy in the society," he said.
Meanwhile, Intersociety has also voiced its concern
on the Ruga policy, urging the federal government not only to suspend its
proposed Ruga and National Livestock Transformation Plan (NLTP) but to totally
discontinue the programme.
The group in a statement made available to journalists in Awka, Anambra State, said the project has been roundly rejected by
Nigerians, and that the government would have no justification re-introducing
it under any guise in the future.
The statement signed by the Chairman Board of Trustees
(BoT) of the group, Mr. Emeka Umeagbalasi, said: “We (Intersociety) still
strongly hold that the two controversial programmes of the federal government
are a camouflage for the promotion and propagation of radical Islamism.
“Although the government, as expected, has denied
the existence of jihadist content or intent in the two controversial
programmes, its body language is very evidential and has continued to rubbish
such denials.”
It said apart from a strong suspicion of jihadist
content or intent, there is no other convincing reason whatsoever that can
justify the programme, which they described as disastrous and riotous.
No comments:
Post a Comment