content="30a40ca14a930b1700e67b08c2bdaf72"> How Ahmadu Bello Moved to End Open Grazing - Taraba Speaker - Rhapsodi Affos Blog

How Ahmadu Bello Moved to End Open Grazing - Taraba Speaker


The Speaker of Taraba State House of Assembly, Dr. Joseph Albasu Kunini, has revealed how the late Premier of Northern Nigeria, Sir Ahmadu Bello, moved to put an end to open grazing in the North.

Kunini, who spoke at a two-day multi-stakeholders regional peacebuilding dialogue in Lafia, Nasarawa State, stated that Bello’s administration prepared a document for investors in 1963 that frowned at open grazing.

The speaker further disclosed that the 1963 document that was titled “The Industrial Potentials of Northern Nigeria” was prepared by the Ministry of Trade and Investment of Northern Nigeria.

The dialogue was organized by the West Africa Network for Peace-building (WANEP), in conjunction with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for stakeholders from Benue, Nasarawa and Taraba States that were worse hit by herder/farmer conflict to collectively review emerging conflicts, risks and opportunities for collaborative prevention across the three states in the Middle Belt region.

Kunini noted: “Research has shown that in 1963 the then Northern Nigeria Government, through the Ministry of Trade and Industry, prepared a comprehensive feasibility study for potential investors titled, “The Industrial Potentials of Northern Nigeria.

“At that time the regional government frowned at open grazing by the herdsmen; for instance, on page 155 of the 287-page document, the Northern Nigeria Government under the leadership of the Premier and Sardauna of Sokoto, Sir Ahmadu Bello, vowed to end open grazing by herders.”

“According to the document, ‘for some years the Northern Nigeria Government has been engaged in settling the Fulani and achieved a considerable measure of success.’”

Kunini, however, was dismayed that the protagonists of open grazing have refused to accept the imperative of ending the system nearly 60 years after Ahmadu Bello, a Fulani, opted for ranching in the North.

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