By Sani Gazas Chinade, Damaturu
The Kulen Allah Cattle Rearers Association of Nigeria [KACRAN] has commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, for his bold step in demonstrating serious interest in Nigeria’s Livestock Industry through the creation of the Presidential Livestock Reform Committee with Professor Attahiru Jega as Co-Chairman, which culminated in the establishment of the Federal Ministry of Livestock Development.
In a press statement, Khalid Muhammad Bello who is the national President of the Association said, for over 60 years, Nigerian pastoralists have cried out against total neglect, abuse and marginalization by successive administrations.
The creation of both the Committee and the Ministry, therefore, has brought great excitement and renewed hope to millions of pastoralists across the country.
This hope was further strengthened by the appointment of Alhaji Idi Mukhtar Maiha, a well-experienced stakeholder in the livestock sector, as the Honourable Minister.
“We were further encouraged when the Hon. Minister embarked on a nationwide tour that inspired nearly 20 states to hurriedly establish their own State Ministries of Livestock Development. This positive response shows the level of celebration and deep optimism among Nigerian pastoralists that our long-standing challenges would soon be over,” he said in the statement.
However, KACRAN warned that both the reform committee and the Ministry are currently incapacitated due to inadequate funding and lack of proper operational structures respectively.
According to him, the association stressed that this deficiency undermines the government’s goals of achieving food security, reducing farmer-herder conflicts, creating jobs and ending Nigeria’s annual multi-billion dollar expenditure on imported meat and dairy products.
“It is extremely disheartening that more than a year after its establishment, the Ministry of Livestock Development is still operating more like a Directorate under the Federal Ministry of Agriculture,” the statement read.
Therefore, KACRAN urged President Tinubu to provide immediate and adequate funding for the Ministry and the reform committee, to ensure the Ministry has its own befitting office accommodation where the Minister, Permanent Secretary, and directors can operate cohesively and empower the Ministry to execute transformative projects for the livestock value chain.
KACRAN also commended the North East Development Commission (NEDC) and L-PRES for their ongoing support in providing security and water points to pastoralists and calling on them to sustain their efforts respectively.
“Mr. President’s actions convinced us that the era of heavy reliance on the importation of processed meat, milk and other livestock products — costing the nation billions of US dollars annually, would soon come to an end.”
