How FG can resolve herders, farmers crisis-expert

Agribusiness expert has warned that without adequate census of livestock and identification of herders across the country, efforts to address the ongoing confrontations between herdsmen and farmers would be a mirage.

Blaming the conflicts between farmers and herdsmen on near-zero-record of the numbers of livestock and herdsmen
across, he retirated that efforts to achieve lasting peace among farmers and herdsmen would be scratching the problem on the surface.

The Co-founder/CEO of Nigeria’s first online livestock platform, Livesstock247.com, Ibrahim Ahmadu, who made this known during courtesy visit to his office in Lagos by the Nigerian Association of Agricultural Journalists (NAAJ), called for updated and functional database of livestock and identification of herdsmen across the country.

According to the Agribusiness expert, a functional livestock identification system and database would help to curb unwarranted conflicts because all livestock, the owners, and their movements would make strict monitor achievable.

“Nigeria does not have current database on animal production and movements rather as the federal Ministry of agriculture is relying on outdated database whereby they embark on estimated figures. The last time a survey was carried out was in 2016 and that was based on past projections.”

The CEO of Livesstock247.com, Ibrahim lamented against the avoidable crisis which is threatening the unity of the country adding that ‘hate and arrogance’ is frustrating efforts to find solution. “Hate in the sense that  other tribes detest anything cow and stereotype the livestock trade based on ethno religious reasons while arrogance on the part of the herders who feel that they know it all and should not be told how to run their business”.

He said part of the problem emanated from the agreement signed by the Abdulsalami Abubakar’s administration in 1998 allowing international trans-human pastoralists from the shores of the Atlantic in the Gambia to move through 15 countries in West Africa including Nigeria.

Former Nigerian Leader, Abdulsalami Abubakar

Ahmadu called for a ban on open grazing and nomadic pastoralism in Nigeria. He also advocated an amendment of the ECOWAS trans-human agreement to check the influx of criminal herders into the country.

“Nomadic pastoralism is not sustainable anywhere in the world, we’ve been talking about the problem for long yet no one is talking about the solution. Livestock is a multi-million naira business and not endemic to any particular tribe as cow does not speak any of the local dialect in Nigeria we have to place less emphasis on tribalism, Lagos alone consumes at least 6000 cows per day, nothing prevents any Nigerian from running livestock business in any part of the country.”