Olusegun Mimiko Says No Land For Grazing Reserve In Ondo For Herdsmen

Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State weekend declared that his administration would not give room for establishment of grazing reserves in the state. He said the proposed grazing land issue does not align with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended.

Dr Mimiko spoke in Akure during a public lecture organized by members of Pan-Yoruba socio- political group, Afenifere, to commemorate the 90th birthday of their leader, Pa Reuben Fasoranti.

According to him, the grazing bill might not see the light of the day because the nation’s constitution empowers state governors to allocate land or revoke same.

Mimiko said although there had been several calls on the need to find amicable resolution of the matter so that it does not degenerate into what can cause serious crisis, but the more the calls were coming, the more fresh crises are caused by people from a section of the country.

“The question now is for how long shall we continue to call for peace in the face of the prevailing situation; definitely something has to be done. “No law has vested power on any person, be it a commission or whatever name it is called to take land for any use without the approval of the governor.”

However, an academic and historian, Prof. Banji Akintoye has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to employ peaceful negotiations to find solutions to the challenges confronting the country, rather than employing the military to deploy their physical force on the people of the nation.

Speaking while delivering lecture titled: “The Yoruba Welfare Ideology and the Future of the Yoruba Nation,” Akintoye urged the President to find ways to knit together an alliance for success and prosperity.

He appealed to Yoruba leaders to “work together peacefully with other nationalities within the country to find ways to restructure the Nigerian federation and ways to revive the economic and social development initiatives in all part of the country.”