Agbekoya Farmers’ Society, on Sunday, took a swipe at the Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore for opposing the ban imposed on open grazing of cattle in the South-West region.
Miyetti Allah had insisted that the ban was tantamount to an eviction notice.
Secretary-General of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, Saleh Alhassan, in an interview, had said the ban on open grazing was targeted at destroying the means of livelihood of herdsmen and radicalise the herders.
On its part, Agbekoya Farmers Association chided the leadership of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore over their refusal to obey the South-West Governors’ open grazing laws, saying there will be consequences if they failed to obey the law.
President-General of the group, Chief Kamorudeen Okikiola, said: “Can a Southerner or a Yoruba man living in the North refuse to obey the Sharia law or any other law of the Northern states?
“Yoruba people have been very accommodating, but if we are pushed to the wall, we are going to fight back.
“How can a group of people, under a business name or an association, come out openly to say that they cannot obey the law of the state where they are operating their business, even if the law affects their business?
“We call on the South-West governors to put everything in place to make sure the open grazing law is effectively obeyed to avoid and put to end clashes between farmers and herdsmen in the Southwest.”
Okikiola reiterated that the effective solution to the problems of clashes between farmers and herdsmen was to stop open grazing, stressing that those interested in rearing cattle must, by all means, establish cattle ranches as it is done in other countries of the world.
“The days of open grazing are gone, and anyone that is interested in rearing cattle should establish a cattle ranch.
“We are warning the members of the Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore to be ready to obey the open grazing law in South-West or face the wrath of the law or other consequences,” he said.
