 Welcome back to the breakfast on Plus TV Africa. Now, open grazing will no longer be allowed in southern Nigeria. That's one of the decisions reached at a meeting of the governors of the southern region in Assaba yesterday. The governors say it's to check the incursion of amned headers, criminals and bandits into the southern part of the country. They also decided that it's time for President Mohammed Buhari to address the nation on the security challenges in Nigeria. Our public affairs analyst Mr Alesta Walcox is joining us this morning. Good morning Mr Walcox. Good morning the Ibu Kurian. Thanks for having me. Thanks for being here. All right, we know that about 17 southern governors met in Assaba yesterday to discuss crucial matters and that was happening even as you know the president was meeting with service chiefs in Abuja yesterday as well. So talking about you know one of the fallouts of the of the discussion you know in Assaba they said that you know open grazing would be banned in the southern states. Talking about that we know that time and time again southern governors have been asking and even declaring that open grazing would be banned but really is that the the way forward regarding the headsman crisis that we've been seeing in the country. Thank you. I don't have all the facts as to the as when this just came out I was so happy from the news yesterday. I don't have all the facts, the intelligence, the intel and all the issues that the governors had at the disposal to come up with such a joint decision. So I believe that they must have reviewed every facts and the informations at their disposal for them to collectively come to that decision. Is that the way forward? Well let's I will adopt a wait-and-see approach as to the modalities of how it can be implemented. Right now it is the joint decisions. Every state needs to go back to their to their states and do their same place and not enable environment legislation. For instance I know that sometime ago under fire shares governor of Kixi he enacted a law on is it open on ninth grade uh ninth grade and I can't remember which of them. On those states I think had a similar legislation in that respect. So when the whole issues are clear on the ground and the alternatives that are preferred are there then we can now begin to know if it's the way forward or not. I think at this point it's rather to mature to judge the actions of the governor. Whatever the governors are doing I believe they have adequate intel, they have adequate intelligence, they have adequate facts and they must have looked at the international interest in whatever thing they are doing. All right there's also something they mentioned there with regards restructuring and of course asking that the president speaks with the country. Can you quickly react to those two? Well I'm not a fan of those who called the president always talk. Yesterday the president was speaking with service chiefs and they told me team in about three weeks or so to say the president was doing that and then sorry I think sorry about that. The president was discussing with the group with the service chiefs and everybody they come up with solutions and ideas and all and one of the things they said is they are not going to disclose any more the strategies being adopted by the security by the security agencies in combing some of these national crime national security challenges. As opposed to the speech of the nations I am not a fan of it. If he wants to that is his responsibility. I don't do that call and I will not do it at this point in time. Talking about restructuring we have done too much on that on that from that grounds and even yesterday I traveled I traveled yesterday and in the in the capacity we are traveling that was one of the discussion we are having very detailed one. Up to today I think I'm yet to get the proper definition of restructuring. If if I'm if I would now keep saying devolve power devolve power devolve power the question I ask the amount of power already devolved what has been used for what are the restructuring we're looking for. Easily resource control as a restructuring because if you ask 10 people about restructuring they'll resource control and all that so I'm not I don't want to join that but sincerely I'm not a fan of all those noise we can work better with what we have what we have to do if we work with it and I'm not sure we have any issues within state within development within providing for the masses that that that's my thing. All right Mr Wilcox going back to the issue of this open grazing I need to mention that beyond all the fallouts including you know farmers headers crisis the clashes how they both you know pull out their swords and begin to fight each other beyond that you know challenge with open grazing there are other factors we need to consider we know that experts have warned about the dangers of desertification and about you know when these cows graze and how they destroy crops and how that affects food security in Nigeria so even if we're not looking at it from the loss the irreplaceable loss to human life looking at it from the aspect of how it threatens food security would you say that you know the decision of the southern governors to ban open grazing is a commendable one? I'm not commending any of the decisions well first and foremost I want to even be happy that the southern governors have finally found their feet because I can't imagine the last time the southern governors had their have met they used to have a regular meeting in time between the from 1999 to about 2003 2005 they used to have regular meetings and all that I'm happy they are back trying to also have a nice position I'm not commending the effort sincerely there are too many sides to it and most of the time we look at the negatives I'm not I know that the farmer headers classes clashes has always been very current decimal all over the country in the country sometime over exaggerated today every crime committed in Nigeria is attributed to estmen and powers not and given the real criminals a better way to run I mean to keep focusing their act today some of the most some of the worstest challenges you're having today is because we have we have profiled crimes to a particular tribe particular people and so every crime is at work with them I'm not so I'm not in that school of thought and I need and I think the southern governors understand the this fact very very well the issue of grazing it's an issue now if you have body to come grazing what is the alternative I will say we don't want cows in the south of Nigeria any longer let's be clear on that if you want cows what are the this thing first is the the middle idea of Ruga and everybody against it they say oh some people want to grab land and all that we talk about ranching has any of the governors of these states been able to provide enough facility for there to be adequate ranching I think bystanders try to do something with sometime with a that's a plain the co-plantation in bystanders state that they try to do something providing a lot of facility there I don't know how they understand that that green government since they're growing as governor I don't know how extent that went has there been alternatives is it just to come on the field of the ground and play populism and shout and incite the people against each other what is the alternative um but we know that govna govna carry the loop I'm coming I'm coming go ahead miss a walkout what about food security go ahead miss a walkout we can hear you yes yeah we're talking about food security what are the other activities that we do down south that threaten the reef food security today today the activities do even consider the activities of land speculators in taking away most of the lands of the small farmers in in places of wanting to be as they now let me be as deeply and I've said that day before I don't know if it's on your own platform before now from a place like a jet to a quay you have all kinds of manner of small farm holders holding up food but today last week I'm taking all that they're all building one estate or the other no more production of those basically two groups we're not talking about that nobody talks about that from from now from beggar to shagam before apart from the income now before we are not this common today and let me just make this point there is to be farming communities along that up to shagam today there is no one it's not for my head that's classy so the activities of our economic activities our our our other activities are what is really threatening food security and I can tell you that for free so if you don't look at those areas the population is widening up the farming lands are killing in because there is now urbanization in every area businesses are taking over churches are taking over lands religions are taking over lands camps everywhere estate that people are not inhibiting everywhere these are the real threat to food security not just these headers are only because most of what they're doing is they graze the graze bushes I'm not holding brief for them I'm not a header I've just have not been there visited before but something from if I'm traveling we see them grazing bushes once in a year they stroll into farms like in those farming communities like the in the interlands the graze and those questions been there we must manage it and not attribute every problem every any problems to this particular set of people that is wrong that is not right that is not fair because we're not addressing usually and we keep walking in that all right so I was just gonna you know throwing finally do you think the decisions of the resolutions of the southern governors should be you know one step towards a national order to ban open grazing across the whole country yes I will I will want to bring reason to be banned like we must progress we must progress as a country I want to bring reason to be uh to be banned but of course this has to be a face ban what's the alternative almost all I've done alternative so we want to provide if I'm a state governor sincerely like if I'm a state governor of riverside and from riverside and present and in protocol if I'm a state governor of riverside I know where there are lands if you are going through the the east west road going to Al-Aqaibor the vast land there vast land vast land I could set up a big ranch and and make money if you go to Ugunstate Ugunstate has so much land assets that I don't know what they're doing with it you can set up a big ranch same for your state these are say they have big land assets that they could set up big ranches and make a lot of it but if they're not doing that and everybody's going to the gallery it's a good decision because we must progress and uh Kathu Bahrain must be a business I have a friend Lagos who has who has who has Kathu in a small quantity he has a ranch a little ranch also once they want to pay the Kathu he does a ranch for them and then they are they are all then they are doing so this is a friend of mine Lagos so people we must advance the the provision is increasing the demand for protein meat protein is increasing by the day and so there must be a serious solution to not not political solution not ethnic not exercising anything but seeing this thing as a problem that needs to be torn into a business and except we do that we'll be growing in that and be exciting ourselves against each other now South Angolan has made a decision watch the video this month North Angolan governors if they're not taking a decision that also will cut this out what will we do when I start shouting so we must be careful in what we do so that we don't we don't destroy the fragile national uh a question that we are existing right now let me see that we promote these rather things that will uh that will shake it for them all right Mr. Wilcox just to throwing some facts here we know that the understate governor you know has mentioned that he's taking ranching very seriously and he's reactivating some of the ranches in understate but um other governors like the understate governor Shane McIndy has said that ranching is a private business and he wouldn't be giving out state lands to private investors or private herders to do business but it seems this is a conversation we'll continue to have for a long time but we'll be glad to bring you in in future to discuss this more let me sorry sorry please just let me add back to the mapping day okay and when there's a problem you find a solution and that solution does not mean standing that is what I'm saying business if I'm a reverse governor today I would be bigger profit and so understate has first land we're not giving it out you you sell land after the sale and to churches they sell land to people that build schools don't they sell land so you sell land or you develop it and make brand copy my brother that is who we should go uh finalize say god bless Nigeria and may god protect our troops I believe they can also buy land in other states that are willing to sell to them it's not uh you know nobody can be forced to sell to them or convince to sell to them Alissa Wilcox thanks you so much for joining us this morning thank you all right uh short break when we come back still here on the breakfast it's world facilities management day and we're going to be having a conversation about that of course uh in this space of a COVID-19 era how do we move forward we'll talk about it when we come back stick around