As The Federal Govt Launches A New Initiative On Cattle, SMBLF Rejects Public Funded Ranches

Greg Abolo June 23, 2018 0 Comments

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The Oasis Reporters

June 23, 2018

Much of the media reports that 10 pilot States have been cited in the Federal government new initiative on Cattle business which include:
1. Adamawa
2. Taraba
3. Ebonyi
4. Edo
5. Nasarawa
6. Benue
7. Oyo
8. Plateau
9. Kaduna
10. Zamfara

A close look at these States show common identity
1. Many of them have been flash points of crisis
2. Most of them have predominant Christian populations
3. Predominant non Fulani population

While the government may be genuine in their intentions, it leaves a lot of room for suspicion of land grabbing by the Federal Authorities for the benefit of a particular group of people who are not indigenes of the stated communities, reports a public affairs analyst.
“If the government is honest in its plan, assurances and laws have to be put in place to ensure that the community takes absolute ownership of the ranches.
A minimum of 80% ownership by the communities involved should be guaranteed”, he opines.

Are States like Katsina, Kano, Kebbi, Niger, Borno, Bauchi, Yobe, Niger with vast land mass excluded from the scheme?.

Meanwhile the Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum commends the coming to terms with modernization by the Federal Government in embracing Ranching for Cattle rearers against the erstwhile insistence on archaic open grazing and old century cattle routes.
The 2014 National Conference had reasoned out this matter and recommended Ranching as it is done in all civilized societies.
The decision to ignore this sensible recommendation has led to a situation where untold terror has been unleashed on farming communities with needles loss of hundreds of lives in the last 3 years with not a soul under prosecution and top functionaries of the administration making excuses for the killers.

In their Press release, they “however object to the FG decision to spend N179b of public funds to build these ranches over ten years starting with N70b under this administration .
Cattle rearing is a private business in which individuals make billions of Naira with no record of what they pay as taxes .
And it is unfortunate that the Federal Government was making this vexatious declaration while receiving the Chief Executive officer of Friesland Campina of Netherlands without bothering to find out that it was put together by Cooperatives with roots going back to 1879 and is one of the World’s top five dairy companies with annual revenue of 11 billion Euro.
It is only reasonable that those who want to engage in the business should approach the states where they want to build ranches and acquire land to build such with firm commitment to abide by the rules of host communities.
Rewarding the herders with public funds to build ranches would only mean that they have killed enough to beat the country into pacification mode. And this can only encourage other people to arm themselves, cause sufficient killings to get undue concession.
What would our society become if fishermen, farmers and people in other trades begin to cause bloodbath so the Federal Government could give them special consideration ?

We call on the Federal Government to shelve the idea of committing public funds on ranches and allow the owners of the business to attend to their business needs in the spirit of “I belong to everybody” mantra of the President .
To go ahead with the plan is to say that cattle owners own this Government and that would make other segments of society to say “we have no inheritance in this arrangement ”

Signed: