Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu has announced the creation of the Federal Ministry of Livestock Development in a move expected to end the perennial clashes between pastoralists and farmers.
Tinubu approved the creation of the ministry on Tuesday when he inaugurated the Presidential Committee on Livestock Reforms at the Council Chamber of the State House in Abuja.
Decades-Long Conflict
Nigeria has been embroiled in a long-standing conflict between farmers and herders, which has escalated in recent years.
According to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, at least 2,600 people were killed in 2021 in the north-central and northwest regions, surpassing the number of civilian fatalities caused by Boko Haram. In 2018, the International Crisis Group reported that 1,300 Nigerians were killed in the first half of the year due to herder-farmer conflicts, which were six times deadlier than Boko Haram’s insurgency that year.
The conflict is largely between the nomadic Fulani herders, who are mostly Muslim, and Christian farmers from various ethnic groups.
However, the root cause is a struggle for land use in the Middle Belt, exacerbated by climate change, drought, and floods in northern Nigeria, which has led herders to seek grazing lands in the south, where farmers are increasing production to meet the demands of a growing population.
In the past, previous governments have reeled out a raft of measures including the highly controversial Rural Grazing Area (RUGA). However such moves have failed to address the perennial conflicts between the farmers and pastoralists.
‘Solution is Here’
Meanwhile, an excited Tinubu taking action to stop the crisis believes the creation of the ministry will resolve the lingering impasse.
“Who says the solution is far? I say, ‘No, the solution is here.’ Majority of you have great experience and you want Nigeria to prosper,” he said.
“To enable Nigeria to finally take advantage of livestock farming, we have seen the solution and opportunity for this adversity that has plagued us over the years and I believe the prosperity is here in our hands.”
With the move, President Tinubu says Nigeria can now look forward to “maintaining the quality and safety of these perishable goods from farm to market thereby reducing food waste and ensuring a stable supply”.
Following the approval, he said the Federal Government is fully prepared to cover the cost of acquiring lands to ensure the peaceful co-existence of pastoralists and farmers.
While President Tinubu will chair the committee on livestock reforms, a former chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Attahiru Jega, is the deputy chairman.
The committee is expected to propose recommendations aimed at fostering a peaceful co-existence between herders and farmers, ensuring the security and economic well-being of Nigerians.
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