The Indigenous People of Biafra, has condemned the announcement by President Bola Tinubu, proposing the establishment of cattle ranches in Abuja, the ancestral homeland of the Gbagi people and other states across the country.
The pro-Biafran group said the move is nothing but Ruga repackaged and a sinister land-grabbing strategy cloaked in government policy.
In a press statement released on Tuesday, IPOB spokesman, Emma Powerful, said it is a shame that in the 21st century, the Federal Government is prioritising cow colonies over education, security, and innovation.
Powerful said what began as the “need for grazing” centuries ago led to the total subjugation of proud territories, adding, “the rise of alien emirates, and the transformation of indigenous owners of the land into strangers in their ancestral homes. Abuja is about to witness the same fate if this madness is not stopped.”
The statement read in part, “President Tinubu unaware that no sensible country in the world keeps cattle around its capital city?
“Let him point to any major city—from Nairobi to New Delhi, São Paulo to Seoul—where cattle are granted permanent settlements around central governance zones.
“This absurdity is uniquely Nigerian, and disgracefully so.”
While saying that the land around Abuja belongs to the Gbagi people, Powerful said, “To dispossess them by executive fiat is an unforgivable act of aggression and cultural genocide.”
He added, “Today, the Gbagi are being pushed to the margins; tomorrow, there will be an Emir of Abuja. And in 60 years—just like what befell the Hausas—the Gbagi will be footnotes in history, reduced to relics of their own heritage.
“Let it be known that IPOB shall resist any attempt—direct or indirect—to impose this toxic expansionist agenda anywhere in Biafraland. No inch of our territory will be given for herder settlements, cattle corridors, or so-called ranching. Our forests, our villages, our farmlands are sacred to us—not bargaining chips in a federal contract of death.
“Let them be transported by rail, just as is done in civilised societies. That’s how a serious nation handles its livestock economy—not by slaughtering indigenous peoples and seizing their homes under the guise of ranching.”
According to him, no progressive nation erects ranches next to homes, schools, and marketplaces. The fact that this administration cannot comprehend this basic logic is a reflection of its failure, not ours.
“IPOB stands with the Gbagi people and every other indigenous nationality facing existential threats from Fulani neo-colonial conquest dressed up as national policy. Our diversity must be respected, our cultures preserved, and our ancestral lands protected. Let the killings in the name of cows stop. Let the bloodletting cease. Let Nigeria choose reason over ruin,” the statement added.
PUNCH.
