TAKING STOCK OF THE LIVESTOCK HOOPLA
While the official position is that the Rural Grazing Area (RUGA) Scheme has been suspended, the Kano state government has gone ahead with the programme with a claim that the settlement will include amenities like schools, clinics and markets. This inconsistency in government communication and actions is unnerving. President Buhari’s plea for more time just two days after Senator Lawan’s assurance of imminent receipt of ministerial nominations was just as distasteful.
For a subject matter with such deathly portents — lives have been lost and more could be — the official approach has been unfortunately tepid. Cattle herding by nomadic Fulani is a centuries-old enterprise that transcends the borders of Nigeria. With growth in population, increased land use for agricultural, housing and other social and economic purposes, and the deleterious effects of climate change, the peripatetic method of rearing cattle is no longer fashionable especially in the 21st century economy where large scale consumption of livestock products has to be met with large scale and efficient production methods.
Substantial blame must go to the respective governments of the West African countries where the Fulani herdsmen exist. It speaks to a lack of foresight and planning to have let things to degenerate thus. The destruction of farms by cattle, theft of cattle, clashes and reprisals by cattle herders, farmers and communities are a clear result of struggle for resources — grass(land).
Ranching seems to be the simplest and most reasonable solution. This means a more sedentary lifestyle. A complete change of long-standing tradition. Change is inevitable; driving and achieving change is however hard. This is where the machinery of government must kick into action.
Communication. In this instance that means engagement. The leadership of the Fulani must come to the discussion table. If they do not see it, we must show it to them that nomadism has passed its prime, and is now more of a drawback than a positive attribute. It exposes the herders to attacks, their cattle to theft, and they themselves along with their cattle have become pests to other Nigerians who have all the rights they have. We must make them see how the world operates now: the beef industry in Argentina, Brazil, USA, Canada and Australia thrive on ranching. The lives of citizens are more important than those of cattle, and crops are just as important as meat.
It is true ranching is big money enterprise. It is also true that many Fulani are poor and all their wealth is embodied by their cattle (no more than a score in a lot of cases). But there are successful Fulani businessmen who also own cattle. These men too must come to the table.
Just as we have used tax relief to encourage companies to help the government with road infrastructure, we can encourage rich Fulani and other interested businessmen to acquire land for ranches. In fact, in conjunction with state governments the lands can be acquired al lower prices than usual. The state and federal governments can spell out minimum requirements for the ranches while the owners and operators can add their own unique touch. This is a more comprehensive approach that brings the important stakeholders to the table and merits and demerits of actions and inactions are clearly outlined. Public policy should not be made on a feel-good basis. No public policy will succeed if it breeds mistrust. Establishing a radio station for Fulani will not solve the problem associated with nomadism — no one knows how many of them listen to radio anyway — nor will RUGA remove the fear of the rumoured Fulanisation and Islamisation agenda.
The apropos agencies of government also have to get their acts together and function. What is the national orientation agency doing? There is so much information that can be garnered and disseminated from interactions with the herdsmen, farmers and all the other stakeholders. Such information can be used to make suggestions to the government on what to do. The federal government must also address illegal border crossings by foreign Fulani herders. Despite Ecowas guaranteed freedom of movement, travelers still have to present a passport. We have talked about loose borders for so long yet there’s been no attempt to solve the problem.
Ranching is an expensive venture but the government has to get involved and it will solve a lot of the current problems. This way we would be able to have a register of cattle farmers, an accurate population of cattle and other quadrupeds on the ranches. By the time this is done we would have isolated the criminals and marauders pretending to be herdsmen while committing vile crimes on our highways and in our communities. There are also other benefits in the form of agro insurance, healthier animals, a much-needed backward integration for dairy production, healthier lifestyle and a more structured livestock industry.
