Indications emerged weekend that the Federal Government was pushing ahead with the implementation of the controversial “Ruga” policy, as the sum of N2.2 billion had been budgeted for it in the 2019 appropriation laws.
Senior special assistant to the President on National Assembly (Senate) Matters, Ita Enang, made the revelations weekend, while calling on states in the Akwa Ibom southern part of the country to support the implementation of the proposed Ruga cattle settlement programme by making land available.
Enang, who is yet to be reappointed but has been functioning in that capacity like others, disclosed that the N2.258 billion was provided for the implementation of the Ruga programme
in the 2019 budget, when he hosted law students of Akwa Ibom origin attending Law School in Abuja Enang faulted the claims by some people that it was meant to create Fulani colonies, adding that it was not meant for states in the South East, South West and the South South, but
10 states, mainly North Central, and few states in North West and North East.
“Ruga is not derived from Hausa or Fulani, but an acronym for Rural Grazing Area (RUGA) initiated in 1956 during the colonial era, and is not intended to Islamise, fulanised or colonise anybody,” he said.
It is funded in the Volume 1 of the 2019 federal budget, submitted by the Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Development under the item number ERGP 5208 where the sum of N2.258 billion was provided and budgeted for the grazing programme, he said.
He also cited other provisions in the budget such as N300 million for water and sanitation, N400 million developments for sweet potatoes, N350 million for ginger development, among several other budgeted.
He said the Ruga policy was just one component of the budget under the Ministry of Agriculture, and stressed that the objective of the budget for Ruga was to promote cattle breeding and meet production.
He said the Ruga programme was an integrated farm system, which had schools, good road, tractors and mechanisation, agricultural integration, with a provision for primary healthcare, vetnary, schools.
According to Enang, there are other sums provided for the emergency of Ruga implementation programme approved in May by the National Economic Council for states that will make land available.
Enang, who stated that he had been hosting students of Law School from Akwa Ibom State since 1999, said this year programme was specifically to enlighten them on the objective of Ruga programme against the misconceptions making the rounds.
“One of the rumours was that President Buhari was going to acquire people’s land to feed cow,” adding that “if lawyers understand Ruga, the world will understand,” he said.
”The programme is meant to address the issue of cattle roaming and destruction of farmland, which would put an end to the herders/farmers crisis.
”The idea of Ruga graduated in 1978 into the Land Use Act, which states that a portion of land has to be reserved for grazing to avoid the destruction of farm produce by cattle.
”Over time cattle roamed and destroyed farms hence the introduction of the policy to address the issue,” he said. He noted that in places like the north, earth dams were constructed to cater for cattle.
