An institute in Zaria has expressed concern over the continued allocation of forest and grazing reserves to individuals in Katsina State.
Research findings conducted by Yusufu Bala Usman Institute, Zaria, revealed that in spite of halting new allocations of forest reserves and grazing areas by the Katsina State Government, such areas were still being allocated to individuals and politicians without consultation.
The institute stated this on Monday in Katsina, at a Dissemination of Research Findings on Land Governance, Ecology and Insecurity in Katsina, Kaduna, Bauchi, and Jigawa States of Northern Nigeria.
In her presentation, Dr Zainab Nuhu, a researcher, said that the fieldwork covered 25 local government areas of Katsina.
She alleged that most of the grazing areas established around 1965 have been cleared and cultivated for farmland.
“This is prevalent in Danja, Dutsin-ma, and Sandamu local government areas. Enforcement is needed to protect the reserved areas and stop their reallocation and destruction,” she urged.
Nuhu said that the survey showed severe impacts of land expropriation on individuals, communities, and the ecology.
She urged the state government to resolve the lingering compensation for 260 hectares of land used for a project that affected some communities in Karkarku, Sandamu local government of the state.
The lead researcher, Dr Adam Higazi, while presenting an overview of the research, strongly suggested that changes were needed in the way rural lands were managed and governed.
He said that the project aimed to investigate land governance, focusing on the causes and actors involved in land expropriation in the four states.
Higazi added that it also investigated the impacts of the land expropriation on farmers and pastoralists and recommended policy and government reforms to improve land governance and rural land rights.
Earlier, the Director of the institute, Alhaji Attahiru Bala-Usman, said that the work, which started about two years ago, would assist in addressing some of the insecurity challenges bedeviling the state.
He said that the research was supported by the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
The Senior Special Assistant to Gov. Dikko Radda on Victims of Banditry and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), Mr Sa’idu Ibrahim, said that the government was ready to accept advice for the betterment of the state.
He, however, said that the number of out-of-school children as a result of insecurity had drastically reduced due to the ongoing efforts of the state government.
Ibrahim also revealed that the government would continue to take proactive measures that would assist in bringing peace and prosperity to the state. (NAN)
