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Taraba youths protest against policy, decry poverty, insecurity

By Charles Akpeji, Jalingo
02 July 2019   |   3:55 am
The streets of Jalingo in Taraba State were yesterday taken over by youths protesting against Federal Government’s approval...

The streets of Jalingo in Taraba State were yesterday taken over by youths protesting against Federal Government’s approval of Ruga settlement in some local government areas of the state and the entire country.

Armed with placards with various inscriptions such as, Taraba Does Not Have Land For Ruga Settlement and Stop The Killing Of Innocent Persons, among others, they described the policy as misplacement of priority in the face of poverty, insecurity, armed robbery and increased unemployment in Nigeria.

Led by the state chairman of the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN), Udi Adamu, they said the Ruga settlement scheme was a threat to the peaceful co-existence among all tribes in the state.

They also argued that most Fulani herdsmen troubling the state were alien with the ulterior motives to grab land of the original inhabitants of the state.

“We suspect the scheme because its benefits that the proponents are quick to highlight like potable water, uninterrupted electricity, high employment, vast revenues have not been replicated in Katsina, the home of President Muhammadu Buhari,” they stated.

Wondering why the President was so bent in ensuring that Ruga settlement dream succeeds, the group said, “Nigerians are too big to be fooled,” adding that Nigerian should be allowed to cement their differences for the overall good of all than allow ungodly policies divide and turn them to slaves in their own land.

They also wondered why the Federal Government would allow foreign hostile elements to settle in Taraba, Benue, Oyo, Ebonyi and others and ignoring core northern states like Katsina, Borno, Kano, Sokoto and Kebbi and vowed to use all legitimate means to frustrate implementation of Riga settlement policy.

For peace and harmony in the state, the youths advised Governor Darius Dickson Ishaku, to urgently enforce the Open Grazing and Ranching Establishment Law 2017.

Eight locations in Ardo-Kola, Bali, Lau, Gassol and Zing local councils were said to have been designated for the establishment of the settlements in the state.

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