GOVERNOR Rotimi Akeredolu has rejected President Buhari’s position on open grazing.
The President had on Thursday approved the return of the open grazing system used during the First Republic.
The open grazing system adopted during the period allowed herdsmen to use designated grazing routes to move their cattle to several parts of the country.
Buhari, who confirmed his approval for the return of the practice during an interview on Arise TV, said he had asked the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, to begin the process of recovering land from persons who have converted cattle grazing routes to their personal use.
But Akeredolu, who addressed the audience at a June 12 Memorial Lecture in Akure yesterday, expressed doubt whether the system used in the First Republic would work now.
He pointed out that cattle grazing routes do not align with current trends in the 21st century.
The governor said: “Where we are now, the Dome, something was here before, so now are we going to bring it back and reinstate what was here before?”
“Or where the Deji of Akure’s Palace is now, you say that it is a grazing route and we have to remove the palace for grazing route? We can’t do that now.
“Things are changing and there has to be a paradigm shift.
“Ethiopia has about 200 million cattle and you won’t see them on the streets. They are located in the hinterlands designated for grazing.”
