The prominent civil Rights advocacy group and pro-democracy platform –
HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) has asked President
Muhammadu Buhari and the National Assembly to clarify the story making
rounds that the rejected settlements scheme for Fulani herdsmen known as
RUGA has started being implemented by other means.
HURIWA also dismissed as insufficient the ridiculous explanation by
governor David Umahi of Ebonyi state that RUGA has not commenced in
Ebonyi state even when video recordings are trending to show the
suspicious state sponsored forceful relocation of Fulani speaking
persons into a community in Ebonyi state under the guise that they
bought lands to resettle. HURIWA said the embargo on criticism of
President Muhammadu Buhari unilaterally imposed by the Ebonyi state
governor banning his people from doing so makes him an interested party
who has lost the independence to speak for South East of Nigeria.
HURIWA faulted the heavy security that escorted the new Fulani settlers
in Ebonyi state as shown by the video and confirmed by eye witnesses
because freedom of movement of all Nigerians guaranteed did not specify
that Nigerians from other Ethno-religious affiliations could be
resettled in other parts of Nigeria even in such suspicious
circumstances. The Rights group said there would have been no need to
raise objections over the movements of citizens which is their
constitutional but the fact that heavy security forces escorted them
into a strange community shows the elements of doubts and points to the
conspiracy theory that RUGA may have started from the backdoors.
The Rights group has also tasked Nigerians to demand answers from the
United Nations if it has allowed the Muhammadu Buhari-led government to
use the influential positions of Fulani born Mrs. Amina Mohammed and
Tijani Mohammed Bande the President of United Nations General Assembly
for this year both in the United Nations to now deploy one of the
agencies of the United Nations (UNDP) to undertake the Ruga programme
to avoid detection by Nigerians who rejected it.
HURIWA stated that it was alarmed that the Nigerian office of the United
Nations development programme (UNDP) has just advertised jobs that it
plans to carry out within Nigeria which bears suspucious semblance to
the much disputed Ruga programme.
HURIWA asserted that there was the immediate need for clarity because
the UNDP’s advertised job which is for Benue state has no difference
with what we were initially told would make up the RUGA programme just
before majority of Nigerians including Benue state government rejected
it forcing the Federal government to suspend its implementation.
The advert published on the website
(https://www.justjobsng.com/20
says United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), helps developing
countries attract and use aid effectively. In all our activities, we
encourage the protection of human rights, capacity development and the
empowerment of women; National Consultant for Land Clearing; Post Level:
National Consultant; Type of Contract: Individual Contract; Expected
Duration of Assignment: 10 Days; Duration of Initial Contract: 10
Days per Location; Starting Date: (Date when the selected candidate is
expected to start)21-Oct-2019.
The Background of the job says: “The implementation of this pilot
project will specifically achieve the following objectives; To reduce
the vulnerability of affected persons through community-based protection
by enhancing ability of affected communities to identify and mitigate
risks and threats while ensuring that there is no interruption in
livelihoods and productive activities.
Besides, HURIWA noted that the UNDO offered further backgrounds to the
programme as follows: Livelihood and empowerment of community members in
intensive production of pasture, management of fodder bank and provide
training on pasture management for community members, particularly youth
and women. The animal husbandry, nutrition value addition and linkages
to markets will also empower the cattle breeders just as Conflict
prevention and peace building by establishing a state peace architecture
was mentioned just as local peace committees in conflict affected LGAs
to foster dialogue and non-violent resolution of disputes.
HURIWA stated too that National and regional mobilization on the
promotion of Human Security at national and sub-regional levels was
listed as the background.
The Objectives of Land Preparation: The main objective of land
preparation is to create a favorable environment for adequate rainwater
harvesting that would support the seeds or plants to germinate and grow
over a longer period during the rainy season. Adequate land preparation
will help to:
Improve soil structure (better ventilation, permeability, and loosening
of the root zone) to make root penetration easier; Improve field
topography in order to facilitate rainwater harvesting or irrigation;
Distribute weeds and crop residues evenly over the field and incorporate
them into the soil structure; Obtain good recovery of fertilizer
nutrients; Control weeds.
HURIWA recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari had suspended the
controversial Ruga programme, as anoynced by the Ebonyi State Governor,
David Umahi announced on weeks back.
Mr. Umahi made the announcement after a meeting of the National
Executive Council (NEC) committee on farmers/herders crisis. The meeting
held at the State House, Abuja.
“We are aware today that Mr. President has suspended the implementation
of Ruga programme, initiated and being implemented by the Federal
Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, because it is not
consistent with the NEC and Federal Government approved National
Livestock Transformation Plan (NLTP) which has programmes of
rehabilitation of displaced IDPs, resulting from the crisis and also
development of ranches in any willing state of the federation,” Mr.
Umahi said.
The NEC is headed by Vice President Yemi Osinbanjo and had developed the
NLTP as a long-term solution to the perennial herdsmen and farmers
crisis.
The Ruga is a programmed recently announced by the federal government to
enable willing states to contribute large areas of land to the federal
government for construction of animal husbandry settlements.
The presidency had said 12 states have indicated willingness to be part
of the programme.
The Ruga programme has, however, been criticized by many Nigerians with
many state governors opposing it.
Umahi had ambiguously stated thus: “The National Livestock
Transformation Plan, its beauty is that what NEC and FG approved is a
voluntary programme to all the 36 states who may like to participate.
So, it is not compulsory, it is for any state that is willing, will key
into the programme.
“Any state that is interested in this programme is required to bring up
a development plan that is keyed towards the implementation in line with
our own programme here that is unique to his state based on the
challenges that he has in respect of the crisis. That’s the decision of
this committee,” the governor said.