Miyetti Allah demands Federal Ministry of Livestock, opposes anti-open grazing law

The Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, a Fulani socio-cultural association, has asked the Federal Government to create a Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries “as obtainable in many African countries.”

The association, which urged the National Assembly to stop state governors from enacting the anti-open grazing law, vows to challenge the law in court.

It said the ministry of livestock was in line with the recommendations of the Inter-ministerial Committee on Livestock Development in Nigeria 2015, the Report of the President Committee on Pastoralists and Insecurity 2014 and the National Livestock Transformation Programme.

National President of the association, Abdullahi Bello Bodejo, and the National Secretary, Saleh Alhassan, made the call at a national peace summit and investiture of Queen Mother Amina Temitope Ajayi as the Miyetti Allah Brand Ambassador, held at the Maliya market headquarters of the association in Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.

It said the anti-open grazing law would undermine the relative peace and stability currently enjoyed in local communities, threaten social order and worsen cattle rustling in the country.

Seventy southern state governors had passed a resolution to enact the anti-open grazing law to tackle insecurity and farmers-herders’ clashes.

Only Bayelsa, Rivers, Oyo, Ondo, Ekiti and Abia have so far complied with the resolution.

Alhassan said, “The National Assembly must come to the rescue of the pastoralists by resuscitating and passing the Grazing Reserves Commission Bill and other livestock management bills that were initiated by the previous assembly.

“The anti-open grazing laws would destroy livestock production and send into poverty millions of people that depend on the livestock value chain.”

He urged the government to take an inventory of all the existing grazing reserves, traditional grazing areas, and major stock routes apart from developing at least one grazing reserve in each senatorial district to tackle farmers-herders clashes.

“The review of the Land Use Act was long overdue to accommodate the interest of all land users, including pastoralists.

“Ranching as envisaged by many required capital-investment and was difficult to sustain, not economical and it is not small livestock holder-centred.”

He also condemned the “continuous extortion and profiling of the Fulani pastoralists by Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom, asking him to stop insulting Fulanis and apologise to them.”

He commended President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration for listening to the association’s consistent calls to restore the existing grazing reserves, routes and create new ones.