Open Grazing Is Un-Islamic, Part Of The Problem We Are Having – Katsina Governor

The Governor of Katsina State, Aminu Masari, has expressed his opposition to open grazing, saying that the system of open grazing needs to stop.

The Governor in an interview with journalists described the system of open grazing as un-Islamic.

The debate on open grazing has been generating controversy since May 11, when the Southern governors at their meeting in Asaba, the Delta State Capital, banned the system in their various states. This was part of their resolution in addressing insecurity in the region.

On Thursday last week, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, in an interview with Channels Television compared the ban to banning spare parts sellers in the north, therefore positing that it was unconstitutional.

The Presidency in a statement by the spokesperson to President Muhammadu Buhari, Garba Shehu, on Monday condemned the ban and described it and other resolutions of the governors as an “act of politicking.”

On Tuesday, the Katsina State Governor said that necessary infrastructure on livestock farming should be provided in states for ranching, instead of promoting open grazing.

The governor stated, “This is something we have to do through development, provide the necessary infrastructure that will make the herders not to move.

“The herders’ movement is essentially in search of two things: water and fodder. If we can provide these two items, why should they move?

“The roaming about, for us, is un-Islamic and it is not the best. It is part of the problems we are having today. I don’t support that we should continue with open grazing.”

Masari also spoke about the current agitation for the devolution of power through restructuring.

He stated, “I support devolution totally. The Federal Government is trying. But the states need to have resources to implement what should have been implemented by the Federal Government.

‘’If today the states will support the police, the police system will go up. If the states withdraw their support to security agencies, they won’t be able to move from here to there.

“So, I absolutely support devolution. As a government of Katsina State, we should be allowed by the constitution to decide many things that are peculiar to us.”