Governor of Kano State, Dr Umar Ganduje, has described Ruga settlement as a programme that needs to be embraced by any interested states and not to be enforced on noninterested states in the country.
Ganduje posited that Ruga should not have been the programme of the federal government but rather for any states with the interest of the Fulani herdsmen whose economic relevance is not in doubt.
The governor stated this while addressing reporters in Sokoto after attending the wedding of the son of the former Governor of Kano State, Senator Kabiru Gaya in Sokoto on Saturday.
He said, “I think the suspended programme was really misunderstood. Ruga is supposed to be for a state where Fulani’s are residents, you can not implement Ruga where the indigenes are not Fulani.
“The programme should be for those states that will cater for Fulanis, and the issue of herdsmen should be that of social-economic issues and not a social-cultural issue.
“That is why in Kano state, we decided to develop a grazing area in the form of Ruga system where the Fulanis will be in one place and can be monitored.
“They will get all other social services that are being provided for the people of Kano State which includes health, hospital, security, and education. Not only that, their businesses would be improved upon so that they can produce more nutritious milk for the people.
“There is no better way we can resettle the Fulani people than the practice of Ruga system. There is no better way you can improve the quality of life of the people instead of migrating from one part of the country to the other. Otherwise, the Fulani people will be suffering and the security problems will continue.
“I am not happy the way they are being treated in the country, at the same time, I am not happy the way they behave too because of their lack of education, which is gradually graduating into banditry. I am not happy,” he stated.