Grazing ban: Miyetti Allah urges govts to provide reserves with amenities

Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) has endorsed calls for a ban on open grazing, but urged the federal and state governments to provide grazing reserves with necessary infrastructure and social amenities. 

The governors from the Southern part of the country recently called for a ban on open grazing, and this was supported by their Northern counterparts and organisations nationwide.

However, MACAN called on the federal government to ensure that herdsmen from neighbouring countries “don’t enter Nigeria with cattle without permit.” 

Addressing journalists on Friday in Kaduna, the national patron of Miyyeti Allah and Sarkin Fulani of Nasarawa state, Senator Walid Jibrin, said, “Many African countries are shying away from open grazing and herdsmen movement coming up with better alternatives by provision of grazing reserves. 

“In Zimbabwe, as a result of the change, a cow produces meat worth seven cows in Nigeria and a cow produces milk worth six cows in Nigeria. To discourage open grazing, the federal government should stop the entry of cattle to Nigeria from ECOWAS countries by amending Article 3 of ECOWAS Protocol especially referring to free movement of cattle and other livestock without any special undertaking. 


“The federal and state governments should come to the rescue by providing grazing reserve centres equipped with hospitals, nomadic schools, electricity, boreholes, cattle markets with modern slaughtering centres, open market to our Fulani women to enable them remain in one place to sell milk instead of their house to house roaming about exposing our rich culture and religion.

“Open grazing practice is getting outdated internationally; the 21st century may never accommodate it. When you look at what is happening internationally, Nigeria can never continue with traditional open grazing practice. To effect a change, the Fulani elite should come out with alternatives to open grazing and advise the Fulani in Nigeria accordingly.”

He added that, “It is also necessary that the government uses the services of World Bank to achieve all plans that will come out of well modernised grazing reserves in Nigeria.”

…Plateau herders berate Tambuwal, Bala, Fintiri, others

By Muhammad Tanko Shittu

Jos

The Plateau state chapter of the Miyyeti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) has thumbed down Governors Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto, Bala Muhammad of Bauchi, Fintiri of Adamawa states and others “going against the fundamental human rights of herders in Nigeria.”

Its chairman, Malam Muhammad Nuru Abdullahi, in an interaction with our correspondent, said the decision of the PDP governors in the North was “a plain hypocrisy against the herders that are lawfully domiciled in Southern Nigeria.”

“We now clearly understand that the intention of the southern governors to balkanise our country, supported by the governors of the PDP in Northern Nigeria was a tactical plan to annihilate the pastoralists and was long in the pipeline to achieve some political mischief,” he said.

According to him, where were the governors when herders were brutally attacked, killed, their livestock rustled, with impunity?

“It is our firm stand that our brethren in the South are legitimate citizens of Nigeria who have equal rights to their lawful businesses; therefore, they should not panic, they should go about their lawful herding of livestock.

“All I will continue to advise ours is that no one should be carrying AK-47 raffle or any form of arms and or found in any criminal activities which are not good for our lives and wellbeing.”

He the pastoralists were against ranching, but that it should be a gradual process to allow them to get acquainted with the system.

Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) has endorsed calls for a ban on open grazing, but urged the federal and state governments to provide grazing reserves with necessary infrastructure and social amenities.

The governors from the Southern part of the country recently called for a ban on open grazing, and this was supported by their Northern counterparts and organisations nationwide.

However, MACAN called on the federal government to ensure that herdsmen from neighbouring countries “don’t enter Nigeria with cattle without permit.”

Addressing journalists on Friday in Kaduna, the national patron of Miyyeti Allah and Sarkin Fulani of Nasarawa state, Senator Walid Jibrin, said, “Many African countries are shying away from open grazing and herdsmen movement coming up with better alternatives by provision of grazing reserves.

“In Zimbabwe, as a result of the change, a cow produces meat worth seven cows in Nigeria and a cow produces milk worth six cows in Nigeria. To discourage open grazing, the federal government should stop the entry of cattle to Nigeria from ECOWAS countries by amending Article 3 of ECOWAS Protocol especially referring to free movement of cattle and other livestock without any special undertaking.

“The federal and state governments should come to the rescue by providing grazing reserve centres equipped with hospitals, nomadic schools, electricity, boreholes, cattle markets with modern slaughtering centres, open market to our Fulani women to enable them remain in one place to sell milk instead of their house to house roaming about exposing our rich culture and religion.

“Open grazing practice is getting outdated internationally; the 21st century may never accommodate it. When you look at what is happening internationally, Nigeria can never continue with traditional open grazing practice. To effect a change, the Fulani elite should come out with alternatives to open grazing and advise the Fulani in Nigeria accordingly.”

He added that, “It is also necessary that the government uses the services of World Bank to achieve all plans that will come out of well modernised grazing reserves in Nigeria.”

…Plateau herders berate Tambuwal, Bala, Fintiri, others

By Muhammad Tanko Shittu

Jos

The Plateau state chapter of the Miyyeti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) has thumbed down Governors Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto, Bala Muhammad of Bauchi, Fintiri of Adamawa states and others “going against the fundamental human rights of herders in Nigeria.”

Its chairman, Malam Muhammad Nuru Abdullahi, in an interaction with our correspondent, said the decision of the PDP governors in the North was “a plain hypocrisy against the herders that are lawfully domiciled in Southern Nigeria.”

“We now clearly understand that the intention of the southern governors to balkanise our country, supported by the governors of the PDP in Northern Nigeria was a tactical plan to annihilate the pastoralists and was long in the pipeline to achieve some political mischief,” he said.

According to him, where were the governors when herders were brutally attacked, killed, their livestock rustled, with impunity?

“It is our firm stand that our brethren in the South are legitimate citizens of Nigeria who have equal rights to their lawful businesses; therefore, they should not panic, they should go about their lawful herding of livestock.

“All I will continue to advise ours is that no one should be carrying AK-47 raffle or any form of arms and or found in any criminal activities which are not good for our lives and wellbeing.”

He the pastoralists were against ranching, but that it should be a gradual process to allow them to get acquainted with the system.

Leave a Reply