Grazing reserves bill will tear Nigeria apart, cause civil war – Anglican Church
– The Anglican Church in Nigeria has warned the federal governement representatives of a second civil war coming if grazing reserves for fulani herdsmen would be created
– The church has called on the National Assembly to drop the bill on grazing reserves that gives an “unwarranted special preference”
Primate of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) Most Rev’d Nicholas Okoh has urged the federal government to reject the proposed grazing reserves bill for Fulani herdsmen.
Most Rev’d Nicholas Okoh
The church leader decribed the move as showing an “unwarranted special preference” to herdsmen that would give them a mistaken belief of being indigenes of every part of the country.
The warning was given during the third session of the 9th synod of Anglican Bishops in Nigeria on Friday, May 20.
READ ALSO: How Fulani herdsmen, farmers’ clash may make Nigeria poor
Delivering his keynote speech dedicated to “the poverty of riches” Mr Okoh stated:
“The synod states unequivocally that the move to create grazing reserves for Fulani herdsmen around the country does not have our support. This is because the move threatens to accord a set of people with unwarranted special preference, making them indigenes of all regions of the country.
There have been countless isolated cases of herdsmen brutality to their host communities. These notorious activities of herdsmen are capable of dragging the country into another civil war. The Fulani herdsmen are private businessmen who take away all proceeds of the business, not sharing with either their host communities or the government.
We wish to re-echo to the Federal Government, states and individuals involved, the recommendation already made earlier, that ranches should be built in their own localities for modern animal husbandry.”
On over population of the country
“In some parts of Nigeria, people are already grappling with high population growth and land does not expand. The synod calls on the National Assembly to drop the bill on grazing reserves as it is only heating up the polity and will do no good to the herdsmen, their host communities or the government,” Archbishop concluded.
READ ALSO: Nigerian pastors speak on the state of the nation, read the 10 issues they raised
He commended the efforts of government towards attracting foreign investors, whose responsibility is ensuring security and power among others. Mr Okoh stressed that an investment-friendly environment remains a major prerequisite for achieving Nigeria’s economic success.
The Church of Nigeria is the Anglican church in Nigeria. It is the second-largest province in the Anglican Communion, as measured by baptized membership (but not by attendance), after the Church of England.
It gives its current membership as “over 18 million”,out of a total Nigerian population of 140 million. Other statistics reveal that the Church of Nigeria has 2 million active attendees on a Sunday. The administrative headquarters are located in Abuja.
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