Residents of Calabar, the Cross River State capital, have raised the alarm over the menace of open grazing of cattle by Fulani herdsmen and the attendant effects on sanitation and security.
Consequently, the residents have charged the state Ministry of Environment and the Calabar Urban Development Authority (CUDA) to address the alarming issue of open grazing by herdsmen in Calabar metropolis and other major towns in the state.
Presently, the herdsmen openly graze their cattle along the Murtala Mohammed Highway, Parliamentary Road Extension, Satellite Town, and Harbour Road.
Other locations in Calabar where the herdsmen openly graze their cattle include Eauk Utan, Eastern Highway by the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, and other major towns and highways, which have now become their safe zones.
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Speaking with our reporter, some residents who pleaded anonymity, called on the state government to address what they called an abnormality before what is happening in Benue, Plateau, Kwarra, Nasarawa States, among others is replicated in the state.
They said the call has become necessary for both security and environmental concerns, wondering how herdsmen can comfortably be grazing their animals in the heart of the capital.
Describing the situation as unacceptable, the residents asked the state Ministry of Environment and CUDA to take action before the menace gets out of hand.
They also wondered how Calabar, one of the cleanest states in Nigeria, is now an open grazing zone for herdsmen.
