MACBAN President Insists Buhari Has Failed to Address Herders' Problems
- MACBAN has again, accused President Buhari of abandoning Nigerian pastoralists, despite the challenges faced by herders
- Baba Ngelzarma, national president of the association, made the claim again in an interview, weeks after his inaugural media interactive session
- The association, one of Nigeria's most significant trade groups, endorsed incumbent Nigerian leader Buhari weeks before the 2019 presidential contest
FCT, Abuja - The national president of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), Baba Ngelzarma, has again, accused the Buhari-led administration of abandoning pastoralists in the country.
Ngelzarma made the comment while speaking to Punch newspaper in an interview published on Sunday, January 22.
Source: Original
He said none of the ideals of the pastoralists have been addressed by the present administration.
According to him, the country's grazing reserves have not been developed by the incumbent government.
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His words:
“Even the ranching concept that was introduced under the Livestock Transformation Plan is not one that will solve the problem. We need a model that can suit the peculiarities of the pastoralists that we have. This is because we have a pastoralist society that is not educated.
“We need a model that will make these reserves attractive to herders. When it becomes attractive, we can begin to educate them so they understand the advantages of this modernised animal husbandry, which is better than the primitive system they have been practising.”
Neglect of livestock big loss to federal government - Bawa
On his part, Arc. Idris Bawa, the national financial secretary of MACBAN, in a chat with Legit.ng, stated that the neglect of the livestock by the Buhari administration is a big loss to the government.
He said:
“Generally, the livestock sector is totally neglected by the government. As we speak now, pastoralists command a good part of the economy. There are so many aspects of it that can create jobs and attract investments.
“Take cow meat for example, millions of naira are lost daily from our pastoralists because they don't know how to harness, process and market it.
“So, it's a great loss to the government. In some countries, dairy production alone gives them a lot of foreign exchange. We are consuming powdered milk imported from abroad, despite the fact that we have the resources that can feed even our neighbouring countries.
“There are opportunities in the livestock sector for government , the private sector, individuals to utilise our internal resources to develop the sector, create jobs and have peace in the country. Though it is a way of life, it is also business that can keep the country going.”
Dambazau calls for cleanup of weapons, dru*gs among Fulani youths
Recall that a former minister of interior, Lt-Gen Abdulrahman Dambazau, recently called for an urgent cleanup of firearms and dru*gs among the Fulani youth as part of practical solutions to the ugly trend of kidnapping in the country.
Dambazau made the call in his paper, titled "Dilemma of the Fulbe pastoralist," presented at the Pastoralists and Fulbe Security Conference in Abuja.
According to him, one of the steps should be blocking access to weapons and cleaning up all the guns already in circulation within the Fulbe pastoralist youth environment.
Southeast MACBAN begs CBN to extend naira deposits
Meanwhile, the southeast MACBAN has requested that the Central Bank of Nigeria extend the deadline for depositing old currency notes in commercial banks by three months.
Alhaji Gidado Siddiki, the leader of the association in the region, made the plea in an interview in Awka recently/
Siddiki said the extension of time would enable his members, who majorly lived in the forests and bushes due to their nomadic life, to bring out their savings in exchange for the redesigned naira notes and avoid them losing their money.
Source: Legit.ng
