IDPs Must Return Home Before Pilot Ranching — Benue Leaders

From Dooshima Terkura, Makurdi

The three major socio-cultural
organisations in Benue State have described the Federal Government’s proposed pilot ranching scheme in Benue, Nasarawa and Plateau states as ill-timed, insisting that peace, security and the resettlement of displaced persons must come before any ranching policy.

The organisations, comprising Mdzough U Tiv (MUT), Ochetoha k’ Idoma and Omi Ny’Igede, made their position known at a press conference addressed on Friday by the Chairman of the Benue Socio-Cultural Organisations, Air Commodore (rtd) Titus Agbecha.
Agbecha said the groups were not opposed to ranching as a modern method of animal husbandry, noting that it could help reduce farmer-herder conflicts and improve food security. However, he said Benue’s peculiar security and humanitarian situation made the proposed scheme inappropriate unless critical issues were first addressed by the Federal Government.
According to him, more than 500,000 Benue residents are currently living in Internally Displaced Persons’ camps across the state following persistent attacks on their communities. He said the displaced persons had lost their homes, farms and sources of livelihood, stressing that it would be unjust to introduce a new land-use programme while the original owners remained displaced.
The retired Air Commodore also alleged that several communities in Benue had remained under siege for more than five years, with residents killed or forced to flee their ancestral homes. He said many of the affected communities had not received comprehensive mediation, justice or resettlement, warning that establishing ranches under such circumstances could be perceived as rewarding violence and dispossession.
Agbecha further cautioned that Benue’s rapidly growing population had placed considerable pressure on available land, particularly given the state’s importance to agricultural production.
“Benue remains the food basket of the nation,” he said, stressing that any programme involving large-scale land acquisition must not undermine farming and food production.
The socio-cultural organisations therefore urged the Federal Government to prioritise the safe return and resettlement of all internally displaced persons to their ancestral homes before commencing the proposed pilot ranching scheme.
They also demanded genuine mediation, improved security and the restoration of communities allegedly occupied or deserted as a result of attacks, insisting that “peace must precede policy.”
Agbecha stressed that dialogue and the consent of host communities were essential to the success of any ranching programme. He added that land acquisition must involve proper consultation, consent and adequate compensation.
He said the groups were not against modern ranching but insisted that any such programme must be voluntary, community-driven and structured in a way that would not displace agricultural production.
He called on Benue residents to remain calm and law-abiding, assuring them that the socio-cultural organisations were engaging relevant authorities to ensure their concerns were addressed through dialogue.
“For Nigeria to be food secure, Benue farmers must first be secure on their land,” Agbecha said.