You cannot ask for Ruga in states where Fulani are not indigenes – Ganduje

Kano State governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje has said that it would not be realistic to ask states where there are no indigenous Fulani people to provide lands for Ruga settlements, while pointing out that the best way to stop herdsmen crisis was to ban the migration of herders to Southern and Central states.

The governor who made the submission while answering questions on the suspension of RUGA by the Federal Government after attending the wedding ceremony of Senator Kabiru Gaya’s son, Ibrahim Khalil, in Sokoto on Saturday, noted that that RUGA was for individual states who could cater for Fulani and where cattle rearing should be a socio-economic not socio-cultural issue.

“The point is that we cannot ask a state to implement RUGA where the indigenes are not Fulani. It is for states who can cater for the Fulani and improve their herdsmanship,” he said.

“No better way to improve their (herders) lives if you don’t prevent their migration from the North to the Central and Southern parts of Nigeria. That movement should be banned, otherwise Fulani would continue to suffer and the security problem in the country would continue.”

Ganduje explained that he is developing Ruga settlements in Kano because there was no better way to settle Fulani than Ruga.

“That is why we are developing grazing area or RUGA in Kano State so that Fulani can be in one place and enjoy all the social services like other people of the state. So that the type of herdsmanship they are doing will be improved. So that they can produce more cows, more milk and more economic prosperity to themselves.”

The governor, however, expressed disappointment over the way Fulani were being treated in the country, even as he expressed sadness that some of the herders have graduated into banditry because they were not educated.