Northern Catholic Bishops, under the auspices of Kaduna Ecclesiastical Province have condemned in strong terms the planned establishment of grazing reserves for herdsmen in Nigeria.
They noted that government must arrest the drift of herdsmen and their animals.
The Bishops of Kaduna Catholic Archdiocese, Sokoto, Mina, Kano, Kafanchan, Zaria and Kotongora Vicariate who gathered in Kaduna on Tuesday said, government should rather create ranches, instead of the proposed grazing reserves.
Speaking on behalf of the Catholic Bishops, the Archbishop of Kaduna and Metropolitan Kaduna Ecclesiastical Province, Most Reverend Matthew Manoso Ndagoso said, Nigeria must abandon the old practice of herdsmen moving in droves across the country, especially given the violence it had unleashed on Nigerians.
According to them, “As Pastors, it is part of our duty to call public attention to the dangers of irresponsible exploitation of our common home, the planet.
“In this vein, we strongly propose, for example that, going forward, we must note that the debate about herdsmen is a debate about the future of our human survival, environment and our country.
“We must abandon the old practice of herdsmen moving in droves across the country, especially given the violence it has unleashed on our people.
“Today, the entire communities have been destroyed and the anger in the land is palpable. We are convinced that the only way forward is for the government to arrest this drift of herdsmen and their animals by exploring the option of creating ranches instead of grazing reserves.”
The Bishops stressed that the creation of ranches instead of grazing reserves would make both economic and human sense for both Nigeria and its people.
They noted that, the issue of collective future of Nigerians transcended class, gender, faith or social status, adding that, there was no special air for the rich and the poor, men and women or Christian and Muslim.
Reflecting on the theme of the press conference: “The Lord is Our Shepherd, Pastoral Letter from the Catholic Bishops of Kaduna Ecclesiastical Province,” the Bishops frowned at the environmental degradation in the country, saying, Nigerians had inadvertently been cruel to the environment.
According to them, “We need to extend the values of the gospel of mercy to the earth itself. Here, it is necessary that we look back, reflect on the mistakes we have made and how inadvertently cruel we have been to the environment.
“Here, while confessing our sins against the environment, we need to show remorse for example, by planting trees and consciously taking steps to embrace the environment as our mother.”
