Malami likes to talk to imaginary idiots with his aristocratic evasive idiosyncrasy. But he always forgets that his idiocy is not contagious to those who can reason.
Comparing spare parts dealers from the south who rent shops and “ranch” their wares to nomadic herdsmen of the north who move around menacingly invading other people’s farmland with impunity and cause destruction to farm produce, property and lives is the height of illogicality and senselessness. That such dullard instinct is the lot of a whole Attorney General of Nigeria and a (SAN?) speaks volume of the quality of legal advice given to President Buhari and his government. Show me your Attorney General, I will know the person you are.
Malami wanted to be smart by half by carefully avoiding to remind himself in his freedom of movement alibi for open grazing cow rearers who have been a major source of insecurity, that beer sellers, mainly from the south, who move peacefully their cartons of beer in trucks to some northern states have their trucks seized and their beers destroyed. Yet these no beer states enjoy the benefit of VAT from brewery industry and retail beer outlets in Nigeria. Unfortunately, Seun Okinbaloye of Channels TV allowed Malami to escape with his selective amnesia on the programme.
These types of lesser Nigerians are not captured in Malami’s freedom of movement and freedom to do business anywhere in Nigeria. Can Malami be reminded that pig rearing is a forbidden business in many northern parts, yet pig farmers are also freeborn Nigerians but what’s good for some goose isn’t good for their own gander in the same federal republic of Nigeria governed by same supreme constitution.
One is baffled how Malami, a lawyer, can equate the legitimate ban on open grazing or open rearing of domestic animals including goats and dogs, a local government law that had been in existence in many states for many years with breach of movement of citizens. Are cows also citizens of Nigeria by Malami’s illogic? What the agelong local government law and the ban on open grazing by southern governors simply say is that ranch your cows as poultry farmers cage their birds or as pig farmers pen their pigs to avoid conflict with other people. Sikena!
The first frank advice my vet. gave me when I got my German Shepherd dog, Thatcher, was to make sure the dog got vaccinated regularly and didn’t stray around and I should raise my house’s fence higher so that the dangerous athletic restless canine won’t jump over because I will be liable for any dog bite outside my compound. But no cause for responsibility if an intruder jumped inside and received the canine’s red carpet reception. I strictly obeyed his instruction. That’s how a decent society should be organised with care for self and care for all concerned with conscience and responsibility.
As at now, hundreds of farmers have died painfully or maimed and several farmlands have been lost due to invasion of farmlands by many violent open grazing herdsmen, local and foreign who are mainly Fulani herdsmen. Many cows have been rustled and open grazing herdsmen killed in the process by criminal cow rustlers.
This avoidable state of insecurity does not bother Malami because possibly he and his family are not affected. Many farmers have abandoned farms and many have become refugees in idp camps in Nigeria and Benin Republic. Yewa in Ogun State is the latest victim of human carnage and lost of farmlands.
Malami’s sense of “animality” is greater than his humanity by placing commerce and profit over human life. If open grazing should be allowed on the pretext of freedom of movement, let Malami open gates of Aso Rock villa and his gated palatial mansions for free grazing and movement of cows and humans to those places as example.
Malami should also allow Chukwuma, Eze, Nnamani to invade and set up spare parts arena in the premises of his multimillion Naira hotels and ultramodern schools he said he didn’t build with stolen public fund. He should make his residential estate easily accessible without restriction to Sule, Ahmed, Yinusa, Tunde, Chigozie and other commercial Okada riders to pick and drop passengers at will so as to convince us his logic of freedom of movement.
Malami and the selfish elites in power and influential people cannot place “No thoroughfare” “keep off” “No Okada is allowed here” “security zone, keep off” at the gates of their residential estates and office complexes and he would come on television to spew rubbish that banning open grazing that leads to land grabbing of peasant farmers who cannot gate their farms or put security agencies on surveillance, is a breach of fundamental right of movement of herders and their cows. Well, the Attorney General should know that the constitution is made for humans not cows or other animals, hence freedom of movement of cows or pigs or dogs is never and can never be guaranteed under the constitution. They are supposed to be confined to their ranches, pens and homes of their owners not to stray about causing headaches, insecurity and threats to peace and unity of the country.
The nigerian constitution is pro-life not pro-cow, that’s the reason it emphasises the security and welfare of citizens (not cows) as the fundamental role of government. We can’t continue to lose lives for citizens because of cows and commerce. In my own culture, Yoruba, we slaughter cows for humans not humans for cows. I think this is the norm in African cultures.
Let all cow rearers, be it Fulani herdsmen, Yoruba, Igbo, Nupe, Kanuri herdsmen ranch their cattle and government should stop foreign herdsmen from coming to Nigeria to graze, they are a major problem in the killing and maiming spree going on at the countryside. This does not bother Malami, hence his illogical comparative analogy. Buhari ranches his cows, let these millionaire owners of these cows follow his good, crisis-free farm practice. Peasant cattle farmers can seek assistance of government to ranch. It’s the way to go.
Adeola Soetan
08037207856
