The Mutual Union of Tiv in America (MUTA), has rejected the inclusion of Benue State among others selected for the implementation of the National Ranching Policy of the Federal Government. The Union took the decision at an emergency meeting and called on the state government, elected representatives as well as other stakeholder to seek every legal and democratic means to stop the move. It lamented that despite years of devastating attacks on Benue communities, loss of thousands of lives and displacements occasioned by armed herdsmen attacks, a significant number of Benue people who have been uprooted from their ancestral communities continue to live in Internally Displaced Persons’ (IDP) camps, under extremely difficult conditions. A statement dated Monday and respectively signed by MUTA President, Prof Akaa Daniel Ayangeakaa, and its Secretary, Prof. Joseph Zume, lamented that the first responsibility of government at this time must be to secure the people, restore them to their ancestral communities and protect their land rights and not the introduction of a policy that could deepen existing fears of dispossession. The MUTA statement read in part, “We unequivocally reject the inclusion of Benue State among the states selected for the pilot implementation of the Federal Government’s National Ranching Policy. “For more than a decade, communities across Benue have endured devastating attacks, loss of lives, destruction of homes and farms, as well as mass displacement associated with violent herdsmen attacks. Large numbers of our people remain uprooted from their ancestral communities and continue to live under extremely difficult conditions in IDP camps. “Against this painful background, the proposal to establish a federal ranching pilot scheme in Benue State, without first resolving the displacement crisis, restoring affected communities to their lands, guaranteeing their security, and obtaining meaningful public consent, is profoundly troubling. “The first responsibility of government must be to secure the people, restore displaced citizens to their ancestral communities, and protect ther land rights, not introduce a policy that could deepen existing fears of dispossession.” The association further noted, “Benue is overwhelmingly agrarian and is nationally recognized as the Food Basket of the Nation. Crop farming has histoncally been central to the economy, entity, and livelihood of its people. Land in Benue is therefore not an idle resource waiting to be allocated. It is the foundation of our people’s livelihood, heritage, security, and future. “More troubling, many communities affected by violence have not yet been able to return safely to their ancestral lands. Any proposal involving the allocation, designation, acquisition, or conversion of land for ranching under these circumstances naturally creates a legitimate fear that displaced communities could permanently lose access to lands from which they were forced. “MUTA therefore demands clear answers to the following from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Federal Government. Why was Benue state selected for the pilot ranching program? What objective criteria were used, and what consultations were conducted with affected communities before that decision was made? What guarantees will ensure that displaced Benue people regain full possession of their ancestral lands before any ranching project is contemplated? Why should public resources be used to establish or support private livestock enterprises on land belonging to communities whose own farmers receive no comparable allocation of agricultural land elsewhere in Nigeria?" According to the group, “MUTA wishes to state emphatically that Benue has no 'empty land' awaiting allocation to outside commercial interests. Land that appears unoccupied because its owners have been displaced by violence must never be treated as vacant, abandoned or available for redistribution. “We therefore call upon the FG to suspend Benue State’s participation in the proposed pilot scheme and instead prioritise the safe return, rehabilitation, compensation, and protection of displaced communities. Benue land is our heritage, our Iivelihood, and the inheritance of generations yet unborn. It must not become the price our people pay for having survived displacement,” MUTA stressed.

Posted: 2months ago

Author: Editor in Chief

Current date: 18 October 2026