Northern Nigerian Governors Forum says it now supports the establishment of cattle ranches

GOVERNORS from across the 19 states of northern Nigeria have thrown their weight behind proposals to introduce commercial ranching in the country as a means of ending the ongoing menace of incessant attacks by Fulani cattle herdsmen.

Over recent years, Nigeria has been plagued by the menace of Fulani herdsmen causing mayhem as their crops destroy farms and eat crops. When villagers protest the trespassing, the well-armed herdsmen respond brutally, unleashing mayhem on rural communities that sometimes leave hundreds dead.

In response to the crisis, there have been calls for all herdsmen to restrict their livestock to commercial ranches as is the practise in other countries around the world. At a recent meeting to discuss the crisis, the governors of Nigeria's 19 northern states said that they were not opposed to the ranching of cattle as a way of checking the incessant clashes and improving the production of dairy and livestock products.

Departing from their previous stance opposing ranching, the governors issued a communique read out by the Governor of Borno State Kashim Shettima after its meeting in Kaduna. According to Governor Shettima, the chairman of the Northern Nigeria Governors Forum, while cattle in other climes produce as much as 40 litres of milk per day, the breed of cattle in Nigeria only one litre daily.

He noted that this is not enough to meet the demands of Nigeria’s growing population, especially the northern part of the country. On the incessant clashes between farmers and herdsmen in the country, the forum noted that it was committed to rendering full and unequivocal support to the federal government in its unwavering commitment and dogged determination to address the multifarious security challenges in all parts of the country.

It also called for implementable and viable strategic measures to be initiated by governments at all levels to forestall the future occurrence of any form of communal crisis. While calling for an articulation of a comprehensive plan for intervention in the states affected by the lingering crisis, the forum strongly admonished political, religious and ethnic jingoists to avoid imputing religious, ethnic and political coloration to the conflicts.

Governor Shettima said: “The meeting specifically deliberated on the seemingly intractable and excruciating nature of the conflicts between farmers and herdsmen, as well as other deadly and destructive security challenges confronting various parts of the north vis-a-vis their counter-veiling effects on social stability and developmental programmes of the various state governments in the region. The forum particularly discussed the lethality and widespread nature of the spate of communal clashes and emergent criminal activities like kidnapping and armed banditry in various parts of the northern states.”

Also, the forum also received an interim report from its committee on restructuring of the country, which was mandated to collate views and opinions of individuals, groups and organisations in the north and come up with a northern position on the national clamour for restructuring. At the meeting, the forum noted the presentation of the report and commended the committee for its relentless efforts on the conduct of the exercise.