M’Belt Group Warns Against FG’s Plan That Might Escalate Insecurity

M’Belt Group Warns Against FG’s Plan That Might Escalate Insecurity

The Middle Belt Patriots, a prominent advocacy group, has issued a stern warning to state governors, urging them to reject any pressure from the Federal Government to allocate lands for herders’ grazing purposes…..read also Plateau: Group Urges Gov Mutfwang To Consider Joining APC

The group’s stance follows President Bola Tinubu’s recent advocacy for states to allocate portions of land for RUGA or ranching initiatives, specifically aimed at Fulani herders.

During the launch of an agricultural mechanisation revolution in Minna, the capital of Niger State, President Tinubu emphasized the importance of such allocations to promote agricultural and pastoral activities.

However, the Middle Belt Patriots, representing the interests of the Middle Belt region, have voiced concerns that granting lands for grazing could worsen the already precarious security situation in the area and beyond.

In a statement released on Saturday and signed by Steven Kefas, the group’s Director of Media and Strategic Communications, the Middle Belt Patriots articulated their apprehensions regarding the Federal Government’s approach.

They highlighted what they perceive as bias in favor of pastoralist interests, which they argue comes at the expense of indigenous communities.

According to the group, these communities are increasingly threatened by encroachments and violent actions of armed militias associated with the herders.

The statement strongly condemned the recent directive from the Federal Government, urging state governors to make land available for grazing by Fulani herdsmen.

It warned the political leaders, monarchs, and youth/community leaders of the Middle Belt region to outright disregard and defy this federal directive.

The group emphasized that yielding to these demands and allocating more land for grazers would only exacerbate ethnic clashes, escalate violent displacement of indigenes from their ancestral lands, and jeopardize the fragile peace in a region already ravaged by conflict.

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