ON Tuesday, December 20, the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai, announced the resolve of the Nigerian Army to begin cattle rearing activities in its divisions and brigades. Buratai, who was represented by the Chief of Army Logistics, Major General Patrick Akem, spoke at the Commissioning of the Mogadishu Cantonment New Mammy Market shopping complex boasting over 2000 shops, 27 warehouses and a printing press owned by the Nigerian Navy, in Abuja. Buratai disclosed that, in keeping up with modern cattle rearing methods, he had dispatched officers of the Army to Argentina to understudy cattle rearing methods. He said: “Argentina has a population of 41 million people, but it feeds about 400 million people around the world with its beef. To take it to the next level, we want to adopt a system where the cattle are not just free ranging, coming from Sokoto to Port Harcourt, thereby making their meat tough to eat; the products will soon be coming from our own farms and ranches.” .
The Army boss also mentioned his Barrack Investment Initiative, a platform which he said had afforded Army family members the opportunity of establishing fishing ponds, vegetable gardens, fruits, livestock and poultry. Naturally, given the nasty experiences with Fulani herdsmen’s terrorism, Buratai’s statement was received with shock and condemnation by a majority of Nigerians who saw the move as a surreptitious way of continuing nomadic cattle rearing, particularly in the Southern part of the country where state governments such as Ekiti have had to enact legislation prohibiting open cattle grazing in a bid to protect farmers from the herdsmen’s criminal onslaughts and destruction of farmlands. At a deeper level, the reactions underscored the scepticism with which the majority of the populace naturally receives pronouncements by the government, given the many betrayals by past and present government functionaries. However, when the Army’s proposal is subjected to intelligent scrutiny, it cannot but be applauded.
In the first instance, the Army Chief spoke of cattle ranching and not nomadic farming. As we have repeatedly stressed in our previous editorials, the logic of contemporary farming no longer supports the nomadic system, which is why cattle raised within ranches fare significantly better than those subjected to constant movement by herdsmen. Apart from the benefits derived by cattle and cattle owners from the ranching system, it has the added advantage, within the Nigerian context at least, of avoiding potential clashes with farmers and the consequent threats to national security. Thus, Buratai’s announcement that the Army would begin cattle ranches within its barracks is a positive development that must be given all the necessary support that it needs to succeed. Indeed, the cattle that will be bred from such ranches will add to the national stock, and serve both military and civilian interests. If the scheme is well executed, it may in time become one of the platforms for achieving national food security and, what is more, the additional revenue generated by the Army would come in handy in tackling some of its extant challenges.
Perhaps because of the bellicose and belligerent attitude of a number of its officers and men, quite a number of Nigerians associate the Nigerian military only with conflict situations. Yet the Nigerian military, like its counterparts from other parts of the world, engages in entrepreneurial and community development initiatives. Perhaps not many Nigerians are familiar with the Nigerian Army Small Scale Drug Manufacturing Unit (NASDMU) which engages in pharmaceutical undertakings. In 2013, for instance, the then NASDMU boss, Brigadier General Joseph Chichi, disclosed that the unit had just manufactured anti-malaria drugs for the public. It will also be recalled that in April this year, the Nigerian Army commissioned its first oil and gas filling station in Minna, the Niger State capital. The station, operated by the Nigeria Army Property Limited (NAPL), is an eight-pump oil and gas station built along the Bakungu bye pass in Minna, and operates a 24-hour service. Indeed, the NAPL management indicated that the Minna station was only one out of the mega stations the Army intended to establish across the 36 states of the country, together with a 56-pump ‘’super mega station’’ at the Federal capital territory.
Given the foregoing, we endorse the proposal to establish ranches within the nation’s Army barracks and we enjoin other sections of the armed services to consider exploring similar initiatives. It would be advisable, however, for the military authorities to ensure that regular updates are given to Nigerians on the initiative, and to ensure ready access of members of the public, including students on excursion, to such military farms, while also welcoming good suggestions from the public on how the scheme could be better run.
and then