Ranching is designed to chase Fulani herders out of Plateau State

Mohammad Nuru Abdullahi is the chairman of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) in Plateau State. He speaks to ISAAC SHOBAYO on the reason the association is rejecting a bill for the establishment of the Plateau State Livestock Transformation Programme (SLTP).

Why is MACBAN against the bill for the establishment of the State Livestock Transformation Programme which is aimed at promoting ranching in the state?

We are not part of the arrangement. As MACBAN chairman, I did not contribute or make any input to the bill. When they summoned a meeting in Jos recently, I challenged the bill and they claimed that I was not quoting directly from the document and I stepped back. I didn’t see the document until recently when it was provided for us to see. But having gone through it and made necessary consultations, Fulani herders have unanimously rejected the bill.

What are your fears concerning this bill?

It is meant to annihilate the Fulani from Plateau State. The only occupation known with Fulani is cattle rearing. We don’t do other businesses apart from this. We are not civil servants; we solely depend on cattle rearing as our livelihood. We have engaged in open grazing from time immemorial and now they are restricting it to ranching which is alien to us. I don’t know how they want to implement this ranching across the seventeen local government areas of Plateau State.

Are you aware that the bill is out to ameliorate the suffering of herders and as well as provide them with some benefits?

We cannot be deceived. They will tell you the benefits of what they are planning but they will not tell you its implications in the short and long run. But I want to tell you that the negative effect is far much higher than the benefit. This policy needs to be studied and analysed and properly digested but those behind the bill are not ready to do that. The implementation is supposed to be a gradual process. It is like the government wants to start the enforcement before ranches are established. That is our fear. It means we will stop cattle rearing completely until ranches are built. They are also talking about private ranching, which is capital-intensive. The law has made it clear that before you acquire land, there must be procedures and these procedures do not allow us to occupy any land. This bill needs to be properly scrutinised so that we can inject the necessary inputs.

What are the implications of this bill if passed into law?

The implication is prohibition of open grazing. If the bill becomes a law, it will lead to arrests and detention of cows. Then after seven days, the owner will pay a fine. If within seven days you are unable to reclaim the cows, they will be auctioned off and the money will be remitted to the government covers. We have looked at this bill and discovered that it cannot promote peace.

The general claim is that open grazing is an outdated form of cattle rearing. Don’t you think herders need to key into the modern method to boost the production of animals?

We are not disputing this fact but if the government wants to transform this aspect of agriculture, let it be a gradual process. People should be trained and the applicability of the programme should be tested. They should make comparisons between open grazing and ranching to know which one is better. When people know that ranching is better, they would not need to be forced to key into it. Like what is happening in Benue State today, immediately the government promulgates the law and begin its implementation without the provision of any ranching facilities, there would be intimidation of herders. An aspect of the bill provides for the procedures for obtaining a ranching permit, ranch land lease and getting the ranch permit. I want to tell you that the permit will be difficult for the Fulani herders to get considering the discrimination against them in Plateau State. Also, the species of livestock the Fulani herders have cannot be ranched or they will be exposed to diseases that will slow down production, growth and development. Therefore, I don’t see how we can key into this as herders.

You also posited that any attempt to sign the bill into law would jeopardise the prevailing peace in the state…

The bill makes provision for the appointment of marshals to enforce the law once it is signed. It is stated that if a corp marshal arrests some cows, the cows and the owner will be arrested and compensation will be paid. Knowing the perennial ethnic and religious crises that engulfed Plateau in the past and which are still happening in some parts of the state, some marshals may use their positions to discriminate against Fulani herders and this may cause serious mayhem. The government needs to tell us the mode of operation of these marshals. Is it going to be the same as Amotekun or agricultural guide in Benue State? Will the government give them rifles? We want more explanation on these so that we can be conversant with what is going on. Nobody is talking to us and that is why we are rejecting the bill and the programme.

Do you really think the programme will jeopardise the prevailing peace in the state?

They will discriminate against the Fulani. The marshals may use violent means to arrest cows that are not ranched and that may result in violence, which may lead to fracas and that is what we are trying to avoid.

What is your advice for the government?

We are advising the government to withdraw the bill and redirect the resources meant for the project to other developmental programmes that will impact positively on the citizens of the state. We are equally appealing to the Speaker and members of the state House of Assembly to have a rethink and suspend the bill in the interest of the state and its citizens.

ALSO READ FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE