My People Prefer To Have Their Farms To Medical College – Dave Umahi

The Governor of Ebonyi State, Dave Umahi, has said that the people of his state will not give their land up for ranching.

While appearing on Channels Television’s programme, ‘Politics Today’ on Monday evening, Governor Umahi said that he is on the side of the people.

Umahi cited a situation where he was building a medical university, and the project was almost in its completion but the people of the village brought it down.

He added that “They prefer to have their farms than a medical college.”

The Governor maintained that each state in the South-East already has laws that banned open grazing and as such, it is way off as he is a servant of the people.

“This is not about the governors, it is about the people, so, whatever position the people take in this regard, that is what will happen. There is no land in this regard that is not owned by individuals, corporate bodies.

“So, this is beyond governors and that is the truth. People calling governors are making a very grievous mistake. Even if I say as a governor in the South-East, I want people from this village, I want you to donate this land, the question is: will they allow it?

“I have heard about three communal crises in my state, and it is all about land. There is a place that I am building a medical university and the people of that village, for a project that is almost completed, went and brought it down. They prefer to have their farms than a medical college. So, the land is a different ball game altogether,” Umahi stated when asked whether he would provide land for ranching as a governor.

The Ebonyi governor further stated that his people have “said they have no land for ranching. They put me where I am. If I have one acre of land and I am talking about giving land for ranching, I should be talking about that particular land. I can’t be talking about somebody’s land. Yes, constitutionally, I have control over the land but you have to kill all the people to get the land.”

Earlier this year, Governors in the Southern part of the country banned open grazing of cattle across the states in the region and urged the President to address Nigerians o the state of the country.

The governors also called for restructuring of the country to address the increasing agitations in different quarters of Nigeria, as they reinstated their commitment to the unity of the country.

In reaction to the ban, the Presidency said the Governors failed to provide solutions to the lingering crisis between farmers and herders in the country.

President Muhammadu Buhari in a recent interview stated that the government will return to a practice in which herders will ply designated grazing routes across the country.

President Buhari added that the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, has been directed to begin the process to see how these routes can be legally put back to use, a directive which has not gone down with many Nigerians.

Some concerned Nigerians have claimed that the insistence on open grazing points to a hidden agenda.