The Mutual Union of the Tiv in America (MUTA), has joined other groups and spirited individuals in rejecting the inclusion of Benue State among the states selected for the pilot implementation of the Federal Government’s National Ranching Policy (NRP).

The Union said their rejection of the policy follows decades of devastation of attacks on communities across Benue State occasioned by loss of lives, destruction of homes and farms, and mass displacement associated with violent herdsmen attacks, while large numbers of the people remain uprooted from their ancestral communities and continue to live under extremely difficult conditions in Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps.

The MUTA, in their resolution at the end of an emergency meeting on the matter, “unanimously resolved to oppose the inclusion of Benue State in the pilot Program and called on the Benue State government, traditional institutions, community leaders, civil society organizations, elected representatives, and all concerned citizens to pursue every lawful and democratic means available to protect the rights and ancestral lands of the people”.

The resolutions, made available to New Telegraph in Makurdi and signed by its President, Prof. Akaa Daniel Ayangeakaa and Secretary, Prof. Joseph T. Zume, “called on the Federal Government to suspend Benue State’s participation in the proposed pilot initiative, and instead, prioritise the safe return, rehabilitation, compensation, and protection of displaced communities”.

The Union described as “profoundly troubling” the inability of the federal government to first resolve the already existing displacement crisis, restore affected communities to their lands, guarantee their security, and obtain meaningful public consent.

“The first responsibility of government must be to secure the people, restore displaced citizens to their ancestral communities, and protect their land rights, not introduce a policy that could deepen existing fears of dispossession.

“Benue is overwhelmingly agrarian and is nationally recognised as the Food Basket of the Nation. Crop farming has historically been central to the economy, identity, 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 still, 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 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?

“Who will own and operate the proposed ranches? Will they belong to Benue communities, the government, private investors, livestock owners from outside the state, or some combination thereof?

“Where will the land come from? Will any land currently belonging to displaced communities, or land from which communities have been driven by violence, be incorporated into the proposed ranching program?

“What guarantees will ensure that displaced Benue people regain full possession of their ancestral lands before any ranching project is contemplated”?

The Union stated emphatically that Benue has no “empty land” awaiting allocation to outside commercial interests, adding that land that appears unoccupied because its owners have been displaced by violence must never be treated as vacant, abandoned or available for redistribution.

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