By Olufemi Oni, Ilorin
The Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) has banned children herders and night grazing in Kwara State.
The Association said this followed
similar actions in some other States in the country so as to promote peaceful co-existence and good neighbourliness.
MACBAN’s National President, Alhaji Baba Othman-Ngelzarma, disclosed this in Ilorin, the state capital, shortly after the inauguration of a new executive produced through a consensus arrangement to pilot the affairs of the Association in the next four years, adding that promotion of
peaceful coexistence, especially between farmers and pastoralists in the State, is non-negotiable. .
He said: “We have told our members and the new executive to ensure there is understanding between the pastoralists and farmers in Kwara state.
“Nobody should encroach on peoples farmlands and allow underage boys to graze with cattle at night. This is not acceptable.
“Whoever is engaging in night grazing is deliberately doing so to cause trouble and misunderstanding in the State. We don’t condone or support it and if we catch anyone doing so, we will personally take such a person to the security agencies for necessary action.
“We know that the way the cow is dear to the heart of a pastoralist is the same way the crop is dear to the heart of the farmers”, he said.
Othman-Ngelzarma said the creation of the Ministry of Livestock by Present Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led federal government would be a game changer if it is well implemented.
“We have yearned for this ministry for decades and we therefore appreciated the President for giving it to us.
“If handled very well, it will turn around the economy of the country, attract a lot of foreign exchange and save over $2 billion for importation”, he added.
MACBAN President, who decried the alarming rate of insecurity across the country which has become more complex and has metamorphosed into kidnapping, ritual killings and banditry, among others, called for concerted efforts to rein in the unscrupulous elements.
“The pastoralists are both culprits and victims in this aspect as they also suffer as a result of crime. Criminality is criminality and everybody involved should be treated the same way.
“It’s unfair for some to be treated differently in other parts of the country. We should all come together to see what we can do to solve this problem and everybody, including the media, has a role to play.
“Traditional rulers, security agencies, non-state actors, everybody should be called to define their perspectives on the issue and we can then aggregate all of them and create a role for every stakeholder. It’s only then we can solve the problem”, he added.
In her remarks, the Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq on herdsmen, Hajia Aishat Yusuf, said the Governor has done much to ensure that peace reigns between the herdsmen and farmers in the state.
For his part, the new Chairman of Miyetti Allah in Kwara State, Alhaji Idris Abubakar, said there are plans to call all the leaderships of Miyetti Allah in the State to a roundtable to drive home the message.
Also speaking, Hon Muhammad Abdullahi Seriki, the Special Assistant (SA) to the Governor on inter community relations (Fulani), said both herders and farmers are inseparable, adding that some elements have infiltrated that are triggering unrest, adding that the new leadership of the group has over 90 percent youths in line with the policy of the Governor and expressed hope that they would use their energy to work for peace in the State.