Ebira youth under the auspices of Ebira Youth Congress, have rejected the option of cattle colony for nomadic pastoralists, citing among others, cultural reason and limited land space. Their position was contained in a letter sent to President Muhammdu Buhari and copied to the state governor , Yahaya Bello and the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris among others.
In the letter dated March 1, 2018, the youth recalled how the Anebiras have been tolerant of non indigenes in their domains. They said: “We (Anebiras) have been subjected to untold hazards and distresses due to avoidable herdsmen/farmers crises in our land. Our losses, in terms of human lives and materials, cannot be regained. Our wounds from the various clashes are still very fresh.
“Your Excellency will agree with us that a wise man does not wait to learn his lessons only after his own pitfalls; he learns from the fall of others. We cannot afford to place premium on any security measures that have failed to prevent the people of Benue, Nasarawa, Plateau, Adamawa and other places from being slaughtered and displaced by herdsmen.
Anebiras are accommodative but not to those that will surely turn their swords against us sooner or later! “By natural configuration, Anebira are short of land space. Our limited land is dotted with uninhabitable mountains and valleys. With 15, 000 hectares being surrendered from Adavi and Ajaokuta Local Government Areas (L.G.A.), with the other three local councils of Okene, Okehi and Ogori/Magongo in the land reportedly set to follow suit; the future land needs of Anebiras, particularly our unborn generation are heavily compromised already.
” While condemning the state government’s decision to cede massive portions of land to herders, it noted that “our local economy has been in denial of the contributions of these farmers while they (the farmers) enrich that of their host states.
