The Minister of Livestock Development, Alhaji Idi Maiha’s disclosure that the Federal Government has identified five Middle Belt States and Abuja as pilot locations for the National Ranching Policy is deeply troubling and a recipe for chaos.
2. According to the Minister, the Government’s move follows engagement with more than 34
pastoral organizations and several pastoral leaders under the leadership of the Sultan of Sokoto,
Alhaji Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar lll before the policy was announced. The Minister
announced that these pilot locations were chosen because they have suffered incessant clashes
between herdsmen and crop farmers. The Minister promised that Government will provide
housing, veterinary clinics, schools, primary health care centres, solar lighting, and water
infrastructure in the designated ranching communities.
3. The Minister added that each ‘grazing reserve’ would evolve into an economic hub,
attracting milk processors, modular abattoirs, biodigesters, and other allied livestock
businesses.
4. The Middle Belt Elders Council rejects in total the idea of using the Middle Belt states and
Abuja as pilot locations for the National Ranching Policy. While the policy has preceded
consultation with more than 34 pastoral groups and pastoral leaders under the leadership of the
Sultan, we note sadly that ranking traditionalrulers, farmers, and communities in the pilot states have not been consulted. The
Middle Belt Elders Council thinks this is not only rude but unacceptable. The
Sultan and a horde of his herdsmen cannot sit and decide on the Middle Belt as
the location for these pilot ranches. Nigeria MUST NOT concede ranches in the
Middle Belt to the Fulani who are aggressors in the region and are still
occupying swaths of land in the region with assault weapons. The Middle Belt
Elders Council also wants to draw attention to the fact that this policy is against
the Land Use Act of 1978. The policy is also a reincarnation of Ruga and Cattle
colonies, both of which were roundly rejected in the Middle Belt and other parts
of Nigeria. If the Federal Government of Nigeria wants to reward Fulani
violence and intransigence with ranches, suitable sites exist in Sokoto, Kano,
Katsina, Jigawa, Kebbi and Zamfara.
5. The Middle Belt has been rampaged by armed Fulani herdsmen who have
murdered thousands of our people in cold blood, many in their sleep and on their
farms. Armed Fulani herdsmen have also destroyed whole communities and
displaced millions, forcing them into deplorable IDP camps. To ignore these
circumstances and choose the region for these pilot ranches is an affront to the
memory of the thousands killed here and the millions still trapped in IDP camps
and unable to return to their ancestral lands and livelihoods.
6. The policy is also unacceptable because it is a devious attempt to settle the
Fulani of the whole world at the expense of the Middle Belt. The Fulani haverefused to abandon their pastoral lifestyle, citing their pastoral culture; now that
the culture is obsolete, the ultimate aim seems to be the creation of political hubs
for the Fulani and the caliphate to extend their influence and stake further political
claims in the Middle Belt.
7. Ranching also ought to be a private business, and Government should never
be a pivotal driver of a livestock initiative to the extent of seeking to establish
ranches across the Middle Belt. We recall that in 2012, the Kaduna-based Pastoral
Resolve (PARE), bankrolled by Alhaji Ahmed Joda of blessed memory, had
earmarked ₦ 5 billion to champion grazing reserves as a solution to farmer-
herder ctoflicts in these states. It is clear that whenever the Fulani come on the
table on the matter of their bloody pastoral lifestyle, their argument is that
herder-farmer conflicts can ONLY be resolved if grazing reserves or ranches are
established for them in the Middle Belt. It is unacceptable for Government to go
into ranching, which is ordinarily private business for the exclusive interest of
the Fulani.
8. For the avoidance of doubt, the people of the Middle Belt reject all and every
aspect of this policy. There is no land in the Middle Belt for the takeoff of Fulani
ranches. We respectfully request the Federal Government, the Sultan of Sokoto
and his horde of pastoralists to locate these pilot ranches in Sokoto, Katsina,
Kano, Jigawa, Zamfara and Kebbi and leave the Middle Belt alone.9. For the Middle Belt, the immediate and non-negotiable priority is the security
of our people and the safe return of IDPs to their ancestral lands and livelihoods.
This would require the unconditional withdrawal of armed Fulani herdsmen
from our ancestral lands and villages. We demand respect for our people and
communities and reject ranching in the Middle Belt in return for justice,
security, restitution, and consent.
10. The Sultan and Fulani herdsmen cannot impose ranches on the Middle Belt.
Long live the Middle Belt.
Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Arch. Paterson M. Bana Adamawa State
Professor Zacharys Anger Gundu Benue State
Hon. Samuel Wuyah Kaduna State
Elder Jonathan Tsaku Nasarawa State
Hon. Iliya Lar Plateau State.
Arch. Aliyu Daniel Bako (PhD) FCT, Abuja
