Ondo Anglican bishop warns South West governors against ceding land

Bishop of Akure Diocese, Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), Rt. Revd Simeon Borokini, has urged South-West governors to discard the controversial plan by the Federal Government to establish Rural Grazing Area (RUGA).

Borokini, who gave the warning during the first session of the Diocese 13th synod at St. Luke’s Anglican Church, Akure, at the weekend, said that any South-West governor who offers the people’s land for the RUGA project would have himself to blame.

The cleric at the synod with the theme, “Beliefs and Ethos of Anglicanism: Tools for Evangelism,” lamented poor infrastructural development, waning education standard, health and high spate of insecurity across the nation.

He faulted the recent decision on RUGA by the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government, saying: “I am not in support of the suspension, I am advocating that it should be abolished.

“If they want to practise it, let them practise it in the northern part not in the South-West. I am not comfortable with that word, suspension. It should be abolished.

“If they want to practise it in Adamawa, Kano and other northern states, they should go ahead, but I won’t support practising it in the South West.

“Why should they give an expanse of land from our community to strangers? And we don’t know what they have in mind; they may have hidden agenda, which I don’t support.

“Why should they give preference to a particular tribe and a particular trade? Cattle rearing is a trade, and we have some of our farmers who are poultry keepers; why don’t they encourage them?

“We have some of our farmers also, they rear sheep and goats, why don’t they encourage them? Why is it only people rearing cows that are to be encouraged? What is special?”

Borokini, who canvassed for state security to curb rising menace of insecurity, lauded Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu for his giant strides in infrastructural development, education, health, industrial and agricultural sectors.