The prominent civil Rights advocacy group and
pro-democracy platform – HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA)
has asked President Muhammadu Buhari and the National Assembly to clarify the
story making rounds that the rejected settlements scheme for Fulani herdsmen
known as RUGA has started being implemented by other means.
HURIWA also dismissed as insufficient the ridiculous
explanation by governor David Umahi of Ebonyi state that RUGA has not commenced
in Ebonyi state even when video recordings are trending to show the suspicious
state sponsored forceful relocation of Fulani speaking persons into a community
in Ebonyi state under the guise that they bought lands to resettle. HURIWA said
the embargo on criticism of President Muhammadu Buhari unilaterally imposed by
the Ebonyi state governor banning his people from doing so makes him an
interested party who has lost the independence to speak for South East of
Nigeria. HURIWA faulted the heavy security that escorted the new Fulani
settlers in Ebonyi state as shown by the video and confirmed by eye witnesses
because freedom of movement of all Nigerians guaranteed did not specify that
Nigerians from other Ethno-religious affiliations could be resettled in other
parts of Nigeria even in such suspicious circumstances. The Rights group said
there would have been no need to raise objections over the movements of
citizens which is their constitutional but the fact that heavy security forces
escorted them into a strange community shows the elements of doubts and points
to the conspiracy theory that RUGA may have started from the backdoors.
The Rights group has also tasked Nigerians to demand
answers from the United Nations if it has allowed the Muhammadu Buhari-led
government to use the influential positions of Fulani born Mrs. Amina Mohammed
and Tijani Mohammed Bande the President of United Nations General Assembly for
this year both in the United Nations to now deploy one of the agencies of the
United Nations (UNDP) to undertake the Ruga programme to avoid detection
by Nigerians who rejected it.
HURIWA stated that it was alarmed that the Nigerian
office of the United Nations development programme (UNDP) has just advertised
jobs that it plans to carry out within Nigeria which bears suspicious semblance
to the much disputed Ruga programme.
HURIWA asserted that there was the immediate need for
clarity because the UNDP’s advertised job which is for Benue state has no difference
with what we were initially told would make up the RUGA programme just before
majority of Nigerians including Benue state government rejected it forcing the
Federal government to suspend its implementation.
The advert published on the website (https://www.justjobsng.com/
The Background of the job says: “The implementation of
this pilot project will specifically achieve the following objectives; To
reduce the vulnerability of affected persons through community-based protection
by enhancing ability of affected communities to identify and mitigate risks and
threats while ensuring that there is no interruption in livelihoods and
productive activities.
Besides, HURIWA noted that the UNDO offered further
backgrounds to the programme as follows: Livelihood and empowerment of
community members in intensive production of pasture, management of fodder bank
and provide training on pasture management for community members, particularly
youth and women. The animal husbandry, nutrition value addition and linkages to
markets will also empower the cattle breeders just as Conflict
prevention and peace building by establishing a state peace architecture was
mentioned just as local peace committees in conflict affected LGAs to foster
dialogue and non-violent resolution of disputes.
HURIWA stated too that National and regional
mobilization on the promotion of Human Security at national and sub-regional
levels was listed as the background.
The Objectives of Land Preparation: The main objective
of land preparation is to create a favorable environment for adequate rainwater
harvesting that would support the seeds or plants to germinate and grow over a
longer period during the rainy season. Adequate land preparation will help to:
Improve soil structure (better ventilation,
permeability, and loosening of the root zone) to make root penetration easier;
Improve field topography in order to facilitate rainwater harvesting or
irrigation; Distribute weeds and crop residues evenly over the field and
incorporate them into the soil structure; Obtain good recovery of fertilizer
nutrients; Control weeds.
HURIWA recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari had
suspended the controversial Ruga programme, as announced by the Ebonyi State
Governor, David Umahi announced on weeks back.
Mr. Umahi made the announcement after a meeting of the
National Executive Council (NEC) committee on farmers/herders crisis. The
meeting held at the State House, Abuja.
“We are aware today that Mr. President has suspended the
implementation of Ruga programme, initiated and being implemented by the
Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, because it is not
consistent with the NEC and Federal Government approved National Livestock
Transformation Plan (NLTP) which has programmes of rehabilitation of displaced
IDPs, resulting from the crisis and also development of ranches in any willing
state of the federation,” Mr. Umahi said.
The NEC is headed by Vice President Yemi Osinbanjo and
had developed the NLTP as a long-term solution to the perennial herdsmen and
farmers crisis.
The Ruga is a programmed recently announced by the
federal government to enable willing states to contribute large areas of land
to the federal government for construction of animal husbandry settlements.
The presidency had said 12 states have indicated
willingness to be part of the programme.
The Ruga programme has, however, been criticized by many
Nigerians with many state governors opposing it.
Umahi had ambiguously stated thus: “The National
Livestock Transformation Plan, its beauty is that what NEC and FG approved is a
voluntary programme to all the 36 states who may like to participate. So, it is
not compulsory, it is for any state that is willing, will key into the
programme.
“Any state that is interested in this programme is
required to bring up a development plan that is keyed towards the
implementation in line with our own programme here that is unique to his state
based on the challenges that he has in respect of the crisis. That’s the
decision of this committee,” the governor said.
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