THE CRAZY GRAZING BILL - MICHAEL DEDON
The proposed Grazing Bill for Fulani herdsmen is an invitation to anarchy in an already volatile country like Nigeria. The Bill is already before the National Assembly and has successfully scaled through second reading in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. All that is left in the legislative process to make it a law is a 3rd reading, that is, a clause by clause debate and then assent by the President. The proposed piece of legislation is full of unconstitutionalities, ethnic discriminations, fundamental human rights violations, religious tenets violations, conspicuous criminal omissions and unforgiveable legislative indiscretions.
The full title of the Bill is, AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE NATIONAL GRAZING RESERVE (ESTABLISHMENT AND DEVELOPMENT) COMMISSION FOR THE PRESERVATION AND CONTROL OF NATIONAL GRAZING RESERVES AND STOCK ROUTES AND OTHER MATTERS CONNECTED THEREWITH.
The Bill’s concluding explanatory memorandum says that the Bill seeks to provide for, among other things, the establishment of the National Grazing Reserve Commission of Nigeria, for the preservation and control of national grazing reserves and stock routes in the country. Its key provisions and high points include, but are not limited to, the following:
1. To establish a National Grazing Reserve Commission (NGRC), a body corporate.