Nigeria loses $1.5b due to livestock sector neglect, Tinubu laments
Ekiti bans night grazing, warns herders against sabotaging agric ventures
President Bola Tinubu has decried the long neglect of the livestock sector by past administrations, declaring his preparedness to collaborate with stakeholders to give it all it needs to bring value to the country.
However, the Ekiti State government has banned night grazing and warned herders operating in the state not to mess up the government’s huge investment in agriculture by allowing their cattle to invade and destroy farms.
Tinubu’s condemnation came after he announced a substantive Minister for the newly created Ministry of Livestock Development at Wednesday’s Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting.
At a stakeholders’ consultative workshop, yesterday, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, the President described the livestock sector as critical to the country’s development, contributing much to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and providing decent jobs.
He said, “The long-term neglect of the livestock sector has weighed heavily on the country’s import bills, with milk and dairy products accounting for $1.2 billion and $1.5 billion.
“Livestock being a very important sector, we are going to give it all it needs to bring value to our country. I assure you that you will not regret the collaboration and the investment coming into this sector.”
Tinubu assured his audience of his readiness to partner with other stakeholders to exploit the inherent opportunities that abound across the livestock value chain and make it a thriving commercialised industry like what obtains in other developing countries.
“Investors are already asking how they would collaborate. The committee, the ministry and I will do everything possible to attract them. We can create a vivid picture of the future we want to see, the future of our country.
“It is about time that we did it right. In a country of over 200 million people, we cannot serve our children one pint of milk in the classroom per day. We didn’t see the investment opportunities, we didn’t see the economy in the past, now we have seen it, and we must work together to realise the dream.”
The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, commended the President for his “bold action, exemplary leadership and unparalleled commitment to livestock reform.”
SPECIAL Adviser to the Ekiti Governor on Security Matters, Brig-Gen Ebenezer Ogundana (rtd), gave the warning in Ado Ekiti on Wednesday during a stakeholders’ meeting of Ekiti State Farmers/Herders’ Peace Committee at Jibowu Hall, Government House, Ado-Ekiti. Ogundana said the government would henceforth invoke the full weight of the law on any underage found herding or anyone herding at night.
The SA, who is also chairman of the peace committee, disclosed that Governor Abiodun Oyebanji inaugurated the committee in 2023 to end farmers/herders’ clashes in the state. He affirmed that the ban became imperative for peaceful coexistence and mutual understanding between farmers and pastoralists in the state.
“Since the government will not fold its arms and allow the lawlessness to continue, the Herders/Farmers Peace Committee was inaugurated by Governor Oyebanji in 2023.
“The committee is to interface between the herders and farmers. In addition, there are other policies and control measures put in place to strengthen the relationship between them,” he stated.
The Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Ebenezer Boluwade, also revealed Oyebanji’s plan to invest heavily in agriculture in 2025; hence, the need to make adequate preparation towards ensuring the security of farmers and farmlands from miscreants that come in the form of herders.
Speaking on behalf of security chiefs in the state, the Commissioner of Police, Kayode Akinwale, commended the governor’s efforts at ensuring peace and security of the state and called on traditional rulers to constitute vigilantes to protect their communities.
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