Livestock ministry critics short-sighted – Miyetti Allah president

The National President of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, Alhaji Baba Othman-Ngelzarma, speaks to DANIEL AYANTOYE on the proposed Ministry of Livestock Development, Nigeria’s economic challenges, among other issues

The Federal Government is planning to create the Ministry of Livestock Development. What is your take on it?

It is a welcome development and the right step in the right direction. We need it now more than any other time because of the challenges the livestock sector has faced for decades. We embrace the initiative wholeheartedly with much gratitude to Mr President for creating this vital and historic ministry, at least for the first time in the country.

Some have kicked against the initiative, saying it is a function of the Ministry of Agriculture. Don’t you think they are correct?

Those who are kicking against it don’t know much about the potential of the livestock sector. They may be parochial in their thinking. They look at it as if it is entirely a pastoralist affair, a cow affair, or a Fulani affair. When we talk of livestock, it encompasses cows, goats, sheep, camels, donkeys, dogs, pigs, fish, poultry, and whatever. No household in Nigeria that does not have one of those things that I have mentioned.

It is everybody’s business. We are all involved in the rearing of livestock in one way or another. So, creating a ministry is an avenue for the exploitation of the enormous potential in the livestock value chain for the benefit of the country. Having it under a mere department in the Federal Ministry of Agriculture is undermining the potential, because that was what it was before now, and it was not given the due attention that it deserved.

Even the balance that is supposed to be struck between agronomy and livestock for the benefit of the economy is not there. Livestock has been neglected for decades to the extent that today, despite the neglect, it is contributing about 10% of the overall GDP of the country and about 30% of the agricultural GDP despite the neglect.

What is the potential of the new ministry to warrant any huge investment in it?

You cannot imagine how much this sector can attract to the country and how much domestic product it can attract to the agricultural sector of the economy if given due attention. However, because it was neglected and placed under a mere department that lacks adequate budget, personnel, and expertise to handle, it becomes difficult to exploit its potential.

But with the ministry, there will be a structure that will solely be responsible for tapping those potentials that are involved in the livestock sub-sector. The creation of this ministry is aimed at ensuring economic diversification and growth. Since animal husbandry, dairy farming, and meat processing are key components that are involved in the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, if properly harnessed, they can improve the GDP of the country to a large extent.

The best thing to do to achieve this is to ensure that you have a ministry where there is going to be an adequate budget, expertise, and room for innovation where there is going to be improved productivity in the performance of the sub-sector, and where there is also going to be promotion of exports to attract foreign exchange for the country.

Rather than criticising due to parochial thinking and seeing it as an initiative of just cows belonging to the Fulani and sentiments, it should be seen from the broader perspective of the benefits of livestock to the economy of the country.

Are you saying this ministry can solve the economic challenges facing the country?

If adequately harnessed, the sector can also create a lot of employment. You know that livestock encompasses things like veterinary services that have the potential to bring about a lot of quality employment into the economy. It has to do with pasture production, the production of grass that is lacking in this country today.

If you have to settle the pastoralists and allow them to buy their grass, where are the grass producers? Where is the pasture for the pastoralists to buy? So, all these are ventures that can create a lot of employment in the economy. In addition to animal husbandry as well as meat and milk processing, all these avenues can create millions of jobs for the economy.

So, creating a ministry is just like exploiting all the sub-sectors in the way it will stimulate growth and unlock millions of jobs. It will also improve livelihoods in the rural areas by reducing poverty in one way or the other. It will help in addressing food security. As you know, the nutritional requirements of society grow along with the population.

The more the population, the more the nutritional requirements for the population to be healthy, effective, and strong. It is only when a ministry is established for this sector and we harness all the potential, that we can get a quality protein supply to the population that will encourage a healthy, mentally sound, and strong population that can work to stimulate growth and bring about socio-economic improvement in the society.

And above all, with the ministry, we will now have global best practices in the livestock sub-sector. If professionals are put to manage the affairs of this ministry, it is only then that we can boast of quality meat that can meet the standard of export, thereby attracting foreign exchange into the country. If the ministry works to harness these potentials in the sector, there will be more milk production in the country, stopping the government from spending unnecessary foreign exchange for the importation of milk into the country.

People should broaden their horizons to a wider picture of lifestyle, rather than being parochial and looking at it from a sentimental point of view. We agitated for the modernisation of the livestock production system in the entire country. Ninety-five per cent of cows in Nigeria are owned by Fulani. It is never a matter of choice, it’s a coincidence, and cows are just one aspect of livestock in the country.

So, because of this and the long period of neglect, this sub-sector has suffered. We are looking for the creation of a ministry to modernise the livestock production system, and to come up with a model of settlement that can be used to settle these pastoralists in one place so that we can also enjoy like any other citizens those things that are coming from the government such as schools for children.

Primitive animal husbandry is going to be modernised in a way that they will be confined in a place, stopping this unnecessary farm destruction, conflict, and trouble in society. This roaming the wild looking for free pasture will stop once and for all. That is our justification for requesting a ministry. It is not because we wanted a ministry to take anybody’s land.

But some have said this idea is a tactic for land grabbing. What can you say about that?

No Fulani man, no pastoralist is interested in grabbing anybody’s land. Even in the northern part of the country where they belong, they don’t have land. They are the only landless society in Nigeria today because they are always on the move in search of pasture and water for the survival of their only source of livelihood, the cattle.

They don’t have land or house. Those hamlets that you see them erect in the forest; after three or four months, they dismantle and go somewhere else to erect another again. They don’t care about land. So, whenever I hear people complaining about land grabbing, it’s just a laughing matter. Nobody is interested in grabbing anybody’s land.

What about the issue of having Ruga settlement?

Ruga is a model of settlement. We and the pastoralists are not opposed to settlement, but what type of settlement? A model has to evolve that will take into consideration their peculiarities. So, it is only under a dedicated ministry that we can have an acceptable model of settlement that can suit the peculiarities of the northern and southern parts of the country.

We know the land ownership system differs from the North to the South. In the south, land is owned by communities and there is no free land there. We are not agitating to take over anybody’s land, but we are agitating for the modernisation of the livestock sub-sector in a way that will benefit everybody.

The South can venture into pasture production. They can introduce commercial community ranches for the pastoralists to stay in and be paid money as they consume the grass and water.  You hear people saying cow business is a private business; yes, I agree that it’s a private business, but it is just like the domestic airlines and commercial buses which are also private businesses.

As private businesses, they enjoy incentives from the government. If a foreigner could come into Nigeria to invest, he deserves some sort of incentive as an attraction for him to invest in Nigeria. So, what more of a citizen? Airports are being developed by the government for commercial airlines, and roads are being constructed for commercial vehicles. So, what makes the pastoralists different?

People should stop looking at it from a sentimental point of view; people should widen up and see the economic benefit the modernisation of livestock can bring into the economy. It will diversify the economy to the extent that it will stand shoulder to shoulder with petroleum resources because the livestock policy will bring about enormous benefits to the economy of the country.

When you compare Nigeria with most of the neighbouring countries that have created livestock ministries for decades, you will realise that with the smaller number of livestock of those countries, because it has been harnessed by the ministry for a very long time, they contribute from 30 to 50% of those countries’ GDP, creating a lot of economic growth and employment in those countries.

Here is Nigeria which has a far higher livestock population than all these smaller countries yet contributed a figure of not more than 10% because of the neglect. This sector has the potential to compete with petroleum, with crude oil.

Many are concerned that the creation of this ministry is coming at a time when Nigerians expect the government to cut down the cost of governance. How will you respond to this?

Cutting costs is relative and it depends on which ministry is been created. If you establish a ministry, for instance, the steel sector; this has not worked for years. It has been tested and it’s not going anywhere. But look at the petroleum sector; are you telling me that tomorrow, there will be a reason that will make the Federal Government scrap that sector? It will never happen because the entire economy depends on it.

Some ministries are created to yield more income to the economy, and that is the livestock sector. Today, I know about the establishment of many branches coming up in the southwestern part of the country. Some are for meat processing. In the southwestern part of the country, they are coming up today.

If you create a ministry of livestock, who is going to benefit more than who? If I see any southerner fighting the creation of this ministry, I see him as fighting something that he is going to benefit more. But because people are being blinded by sentiment, they think the ministry is created for only Fulani.

It was stated that the ministry would address the issue of farmer-herder clash, but some have also argued that this is what your association and the security agency should be able to handle. Why is it difficult to resolve this farmer-herder clash?

The reason why we think the ministry can handle it better is because it is a ministry that is dedicated to the purpose of livestock. When we talk of a ministry, we are talking of an entity that has budget, members of staff with expertise, and many other things that will bring about a lot of innovations to enhance productivity in the sub-sector.

Part of the causes of the conflict is because of the continuous movement in search of pasture. As a result of this movement, farms are being destroyed. So, we believe the ministry can address this issue squarely. The first task that I think the ministry will engage in is the creation of awareness between the farmers and the pastoralists. Try to find the missing communication links between them.

Sit with the farmers in whatever area in Nigeria and ask them, ‘What is your problem with this pastoralist? What can we do to stop these things?’ You will get a lot of information. So, by the time you do advocacy and sensitisation, you will have solutions to solve most of these conflict issues. Also, work with the security agencies and fashion out ways to stop criminals.

What are some of the challenges that made it difficult for your association and others to address this continued clash?

Do we have a budget and the resources to embark on wide sensitisation and advocacy? We don’t have the resources to do that. We also do not have the personnel to do it. We only have the ideas because we know the dynamics of the crisis and what can be done to bring it to an end.

Before the emergence of this new phenomenon of kidnapping, industrial-scale cattle rustling further escalated the issue. When we were addressing this farmer-herder conflict, we always relied on the government for most of our demands. We have to look for money from the government before we embark on sensitisation. Sometimes we get, sometimes we don’t get.

Notwithstanding, we use our structures because we have structures at all levels as much as possible to create awareness and sensitisation. At the national level, we have signed an MOU with the leadership of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria. So, we are working hand-in-hand. We have also requested our state chapters to follow suit by reaching out to the leadership of AFAN in the state to address the issues.

Yoruba nation activist, Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, issued a fresh quit notice to Fulani herders to vacate all forests in the South-West region. What is your reaction to the development?

I see him as somebody who is taking advantage of these things to build a name for himself and to gain recognition. That is why from time to time, he issues statements. Even on where there is no conflict, he will say, pastoralists should leave the area. If you go down and investigate, there is nothing like that. He has made similar statements. We went down to those areas and realised that there was nothing much there.

He is just doing things to attract attention to himself. Somebody who is not in the country is issuing statements on what is going on in the country. We don’t waste our time responding to this kind of person because he is not serious. If he is serious, our hands of relationship are always extended. Conflict will not be to the benefit of anybody. If you go there as a journalist, you will realise that there is nothing going on in those areas that he mentioned.

Are you saying that you have investigated and nothing like that exists within those areas?

This thing has been there for decades. The relationship between farmers and herders is just like the relationship between the tongue and teeth. They live together and issues are bound to happen from time to time. But when they happen, there are always moves to constantly resolve those issues so that the farmers and herders can easily co-exist.

The rate of insecurity across the country has continued to be a concern. What is your assessment of the current situation?

President Bola Tinubu is only a year in office. He resumed and met huge mountains of problems ranging from economy, insecurity, and many other things. It is easy to destroy, but it is difficult and time-consuming to repair. Tinubu met an economy that is in shambles and with a lot of associated security challenges all across the country. So, correcting this kind of mess must be a gradual process.

If you are expecting him to do miracles and transform the economy to the way you like it, you are making a mistake. It will take years. If I am asked to advise Mr President on the economy, I will ask him to suspend all capital projects that are taking too much money. He should try to subsidise food stuff and drugs by 50% and encourage people to go back to the farm.

The Federal Government should invest more money in security and create an atmosphere for people to access their farmland peacefully. As it is now, some in the northwestern part of the country don’t dare go to their farmlands because of fear of insecurity there. He should stop spending on unnecessary infrastructure that will not do an ordinary man anything.

It was reported in July that bandits impose taxes of about N100,000 on farmers to gain access to their farmlands in Zamfara and others. What is the current situation? Is this still happening?

Honestly, I don’t know. I also read in the news the way you saw it. Those taxes are collected before people are allowed to go to farms. But I don’t know much about this, so I have nothing to contribute to it.

Does it mean your members are not affected?

I know that Katsina and Zamfara states are undergoing serious issues of insecurity, and my members are always at the centre. I also know that all the peace-loving ones have left Zamfara and Katsina states to find shelter for themselves and their only source of livelihood; the cows, because the cows are being taken away from them every day.

There has never been a time you hear of banditry, and you won’t hear of cattle rustling. Whenever you hear of a cow stolen, it must have been taken away from a pastoralist, a Fulani man. So, because the cows have been taken away, they are not spared by the bandits, they are not spared by the kidnappers, and neither are they spared by the vigilante.

Some states have established forest guards to protect farmers, and some experts have advised the Federal Government to recruit forest guards. Do you think this will address the current security challenge faced by farmers?

They have been there to guard the forest, but are they going to do anything? If I may advise, the Federal Government and the security agencies are now working through the kinetic approach, using force. I would advise for both approaches to be used at the same time. While using force, you also bring in the non-kinetic approach, encourage dialogue between the stakeholders, discuss with vigilante groups, discuss with the farming community, and discuss with the leadership of the bandits if you can get through to them; find out simple questions; ‘Why are you doing these things? What is the problem? What can we do to stop it?’

So, I am sure that by the time you collect answers from the various groups, solutions will be clear for you. By the time you get the solutions, the road will also be clear for you. The roles of traditional rulers will be made clear in the solution. The roles of religious leaders will be made clear out of the solution; the roles of security agencies and the government will also be made clear. The roles of the farming group, the farmers, and the other groups will also be clear.

The road for every association like my own and many other conservative groups will all be clear. So, let everybody be encouraged to go and play their roles, including the government. By the time you do this, I am sure some who are forced into such things will embrace peace. They will drop their arms. They will embrace peace. It is only when we get a substantial number of them that you may be able to break into the network of the other criminal groups.