electoral defeat linked to the shepherds and farmers crisis in Edo
Edo Governor Godwin Obaseki blamed the state’s tension on the idea of grazing what he called the same political opponents he defeated in the latest state government poll.
As a reminder, the governor reportedly promised to create pastures for shepherds, but as he spoke to correspondents of the State Chamber after meeting with the head of the presidential administration, Professor Ibrahim Gambari, at the presidential villa in Abuja, at the end of the week, he said that his government only encouraged private citizens to do business with pastors for profit.
He accused political opponents of deliberately distorting the government’s position for selfish reasons.
According to him, “If you look at just a few blogs and some of the stories and posts posted on the Internet and on social media, you will see a correlation. For example, the people who are promoting the message that I conveyed to the pastures in Edo, if you see, these are the same blogs, the same people who sponsored the opposition messages during the elections, it is so clear if you were in my place, what was would your conclusion?
“Besides that, the people who promoted this story are just trying to create fear, trying to create problems. These are the people we defeated in the last elections.
“It is very clear that we are not saying that we have no problems, we have security problems, but the leadership or people who have strived for leadership should not be irresponsible. Don’t stir up an already tense situation. This is what we are talking about. “
Governor Obaseki said he did not give up on his promise to provide pasture, saying, “I said that the state government does not raise or provide pasture. However, there are communities that own land, and today, according to some regulations, shepherds live in them.
“I invited these communities to try to provide land where and when the shepherds come. They can grow grass and load it to send herds to certain areas and keep herders out of other people’s farmlands, because that’s what is causing the crisis.
“These are all commercial transactions between people, communities and pastors. We stressed that animal husbandry is a business, and the state is not obliged to engage in this business.
“They are really doing it now because we have found that in most communities, when pastors come, they usually make a deal or arrangement with community leaders before they can graze in those communities. This is what exists today.
“But in some cases, this agreement is violated when very young herders cannot control their cows and leave for other people’s farmland.
“This is the situation in many communities today, and we are saying why not formalize it properly by designating areas with water and grass so that when they arrive, you ask them to enter those areas, charging them a fee for everything they need. charging This we will restrict them there so that they do not invade and invade other people’s agricultural lands and do not eat their crops.
“I think this is a smart move and this relationship has been going on for hundreds of years. So, we cannot wake up today and say that everyone is gone, we do not want you. How do you get protein? “
Talking about why he is at the presidential mansion, the governor said he was at the presidential mansion to ask President Muhammad Bukhari to send the military to protect state forest reserves, which are currently depleted by illegal armed loggers.
Lumberjack activities have recently reached alarming proportions, he said, jeopardizing daily life.
He said, “Actually, I got the idea of a chief of staff. It was not easy for us not only with the bandits in our forests, but also with illegal loggers. It was an invasion of our forests, which included armed loggers. to chop logs indiscriminately in our forests.
“I’m sure you would have seen this news about Okomu National Park, one of the last pristine rainforests we left behind, and the number of clearings by armed loggers over the past couple of months is really worrying.
“They also affect wildlife. You know that very rare species of animals live in the reserve, and with this avalanche of lumberjacks we are losing them, and this causes concern.
“So I decided to train with the chief of staff to see how the federal government can help guard the national park, with our local guards, and see if the military can support them.”
He said the presidency responded to a request.
Source: – Vanguard
