Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo, has explained why his state is yet to enact the anti-open grazing law.
Speaking at a stakeholders town hall meeting in Benin, Edo state capital, on Monday, Obaseki said there is no value in making a law that cannot be enforced and implemented, stressing that it is pertinent to first address the root of the acrimony between host communities and herders.
The governor said: “We are one of the few states that have not signed the bill into law, and the reason is simple. To sign a law is very simple, it doesn’t make sense to put out a law you cannot enforce.
Also Read: Governor Abiodun Signs Anti-Open Grazing Bill Into law in Ogun
ATTENTION: Click “HERE” to join our WhatsApp group and receive News updates directly on your WhatsApp!
“The best way of enforcing a law is to bring everybody together to be part of that law. We have a crisis in our country, it is deeply rooted, there are different causes why these are happening, let us go to the root of the causes and resolve it from there.
“People have said that we have lived a hundred years together in harmony before now, why are we now having this problem today.
“If we don’t go to the reason why, then we will be scratching the surface. Let us start by understanding why we are having this challenge. To sign a law is very easy, it doesn’t make sense to put out a law that you cannot enforce.
“As long as we have decided that we will eat meats and drink milk, we will now have to sit down and rearrange the business on how we will get the people who are producing the meat on how they must organise themselves.
“Let us not play politics with this issue, let us deal with this issue honestly and openly. There are security implications because some people have now joined and using these herders to perpetrate insecurity.”
Obaseki said there are fulani herdersmen who are carrying out legitimate businesses.
