Why Nigerians are kicking against RUGA settlement and calling it a Greek gift

The Federal Government have stated that they want to establish RUGA settlement across the country as a way of settling the farmer-herders crisis experienced in the country.

They have already highlighted 11 states as pilot states for the program, with claims that other states have shown interest.

However, the project has been vehemently kicked against by Nigerians who are already moving their protests from social media to the streets.

Last week, some youths in Benue, a state that has suffered immensely in the hands of suspected Herdsmen who butchered them in thousands, took to the streets to kick against any idea of setting up RUGA in their state.

Many Nigerian, especially Southerners, see the RUGA settlement as an attempt by the FG to take people’s ancestral lands and hand them over to the nomadic Fulani tribe who will in turn move in in droves and claim the lands forever.

Some quarters see the attempt as an Islamization agenda. They believe it will enable Islam spread to the South which will thereby be conquered. They also believe RUGA settlement won’t be a solution to the daily bloodshed experienced at the hands of herdsmen who have made it difficult for farmers to go to their farms.

While the FG believes states will benefit from the establishment, many see it as a Greek gift and an attempt to set up camps in all states of Nigeria for jihadists to operate from.