South governors’ resolution to ban open grazing by herders in their domains gained more support yesterday. The support came from Katsina State Governor Aminu Bello Masari.
Throwing his weight behind the governors’ stand on open grazing, Masari described the practice that encourages herders to move from one location to another as ‘“un-Islamic”.
Masari shared his views with reporters at the Government House in Katsina as part of activities marking the second year of his second term in office.
The governor argued that necessary infrastructure on Livestock farming should be provided in the states to discourage herders against wandering from one place to another.
“The herders’ movement is essentially in search of two things – water and fodder. If we can provide these two items, why should they move?”
“This roaming about I don’t think. For us, it’s un-Islamic and is not the best. It is part of the problem we are having today. I don’t support that we should continue with the way open grazing is.”
On devolution of power through restructuring, he argued that the states urgently needed resources to implement what should have been implemented at the federal level.
He said: “I support devolution totally; the Federal Government is trying, but the states need to have resource 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 here to there.
“So, I absolutely support devolution in totality. So as a Government of Katsina we should be allowed by the constitution, within the constitution to decide on many things that are peculiar to us.
“The federal government should have a benchmark and people should not operate beyond this mark. Lagos State is generating up to four hundred and something billion, while Katsina State is just generating two billion. I expect with proper restructuring, states should own the reflective of what they earn from within their state.
THE NATION
