By Martins Oloja
I have been in the concourse of this unlocked potential called ‘Livestock Development’ for some time and it has been amazing learning, unlearning and relearning some aspect of science and financial journalism, we may have lost to our obsession with political journalism in our milieu. I mean here that the wind of time has since last year blown me to a conclave of public intellectuals who are unarguably some of the brightest and the best in the fields of animal science, veterinary medicine, extension services, agricultural economics and engineering. Which has made some of my friends and followers to be asking me about the correlation between my background as a journalist and livestock sector that has significantly touched off some attention in the public space.
I would like to write on some remarkable lessons from my reporter’s notebook so far as an insider in the politics and policies that led to the creation of Livestock Ministry, so many analysts have continued to claim, isn’t necessary after all. This isn’t a justification for the creation of ‘yet another ministry’ but just so share some takeaways from the experience I have had as we wonder what we can benefit from 25 years of unbroken democracy. I had earlier written a two-part serial titled, “Time To Grab Opportunities in Livestock Noise” in this age of information overload (The Guardian, July 20-27).
The conclusion of the whole matter I would like to discuss in another serial for a few weeks is that government too can work if the human capital (resource) we have here can be harnessed to run the institutions of governance. I can report through the intellectuals and technocrats I have studied on the Livestock Committees in the last few months that the country is blessed with those who can migrate the country from Third to First World. But the trouble with us is that there is already a systemic collapse in the civil service where ideas and projects are buried. And so talented people in the country have to be head hunted to do some critical thinking and strategic planning that have to be executed by reliable builders.
And here is the thing, the system needs quiet operators and strategic planners like former Governor Abdullahi Ganduje who actually originated the Livestock Sector Development Agenda as Governor of Kano State. The courageous and resourceful bureaucrat and politician had been talking about the unworkability and danger of getting Fulani herdsmen to be involved in open grazing from the far North to the South even when it was unpopular to do so in the previous administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.
Most of the participants at a two-day Stakeholders’ Consultative Workshop on Livestock Reforms, which ended on October 25, 2024 at the State House Conference Centre, Abuja were hearing for the first time that the seed of the Livestock success story, which had grown into a Ministry of Livestock was actually planted by former Governor of Kano State before May 29, 2023. At the opening ceremony on Thursday October 24, the very resourceful Secretary to the Committee, Professor Mohammed Yahaya Kuta mentioned this in his vote of thanks before the president’s speech, which also amplified Ganduje’s role in this strategic project.
While others were making noise and dispensing public relations strategy for their main candidates in the 2023 presidential election, the Governor of Kano State, Ganduje had then set off a remarkable move in the realm of conflict management in agriculture business and socio-cultural relations. The destruction of farmlands has often led to clashes between farmers and herders across the country. And so on January 19, 2023, the Governor inaugurated a Committee tasked with planning a national conference to proffer solutions to farmer-herder clashes in the country. The 26-member Committee was headed by a very significant figure, Professor Attahiru Jega, former Vice Chancellor, Bayero University, Kano, former Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
In his opening remark at the inauguration of the committee, Ganduje said “the national livestock transformation plan (NLTP) proposed by the federal government to tackle the problem has not yielded results because of “inadequate political leadership”. The Governor added: “It is gladdening, therefore, to say that since assumption of office in 2015, we in Kanohave led the way and have been pioneering the initiation of development-oriented interventions at reformation of the livestock sector to mitigate farmer-herder conflicts by tackling the issue headlong…Your selection to serve as members of this committee is solely based on your experiences and contributions to national development in your respective fields…It is our hope that you will work towards planning and organising a befitting national conference on farmer-herder conflicts in Nigeria and to select an appropriate theme for the conference. The organising committee is also to draft a blueprint for reform of traditional livestock/cattle rearing and mitigation of associated conflicts in Nigeria, and to undertake any other activities towards the successful planning and organising of the conference in accordance with the terms of reference as specified”.
The original conference:
The well-attended Conference was held on Monday 13 and Tuesday 14, February 2023 at the NAF Conference Centre in Abuja. There was one remarkable feature of the Conference: Governor Ganduje and the Deputy Governor Gawuna didn’t leave after the opening ceremony attended by the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, Sultan of Sokoto, several Emirs, diplomats and sundry scientists and scholars of various hues. They listened to all the technical sessions for two days until the Communique of the Conference was read and adopted.
Specifically, the two-day conference on “Livestock Reforms and Mitigation of Associated Conflicts” brought together scholars, professionals, captains of industry and practitioners in the field of agricultural development, value chain specialists and researchers in diverse fields of animal production. The National Conference recommended, among others the establishment of the Ministry of Livestock Resources. In a communique issued at the end of the two days National Conference, it was agreed that the call was in tandem with practices in many other West African countries. The communique signed by Prof Attahiru Jega, said in the alternative, federal and state governments should expand the scope of existing Departments of Livestock Production to address the broader needs of the industry. Similarly, the Conference further stressed the need for the creation of additional research institutions for beef, dairy and pasture production as a strategy for expanding funding and enacting policies and programmes for the development of the sector at all levels of government.
The communiqué calls on media organisations to create awareness at all levels that will promote inclusive communities, strengthen harmonious relations to encourage government and private sector investments for cohesive societies and improved productivity. The document also enjoins the news media to note that profiling and reportage that malign socio-economic and ethnic groups need to be avoided. The participants call on the United Nations (UN) Agencies, Bilateral institutions, regional organizations (AU and ECOWAS), national and international CSOs and other support organisations to increase the level of funding and support to the government of Nigeria in mitigating the Impact of climate change, addressing technology gaps, addressing poverty and skills gap and improving people’s livelihoods. They further stressed the need to support agricultural and pastoralists organisations, cooperative societies and relevant producer associations and professional bodies for improved productivity.
Among the resolutions of the experts that includes specialists in range management veterinary services, economics, history, cultural studies, climate change, natural resources management, governance and conflict management, among others was the need to revisit and review sub-national, national and regional laws, legislations and policies to make applicable reforms for improving Livestock production and addressing conflicts. It includes the need to adopt Climate Smart Agricultural (CSA) practices, including the adoption of Integrated approach to managing landscapes of croplands, rangelands, forests and fisheries that address the Interlinks between the quest for food security and mitigation of the challenges of climate change.
They also harped on the need to strengthen and Improve the security architecture for the prevention of violent crimes including cattle rustling, raiding of villages, kidnapping of persons for ransom and trade in illicit arms and drugs. Continuing, they noted: “There is the need to strengthen the process of litigation for more effective dispensation of justice and handling of the various litigations relating to violent crimes and other perpetrators of violent conflicts. “There is the need to reform the security and judicial architectures to ensure the curtailing of farmer-herder conflicts, cattle rustlng, illegal arms trade, importation and proliferation in the country”.
In the same vein, they urged ”political leaders at all levels to refrain from politicising the issue of farmer-herder conflicts and other associated issues while pursuing inclusive processes that will strengthen unity and cooperation in the country.” The participants commended the Kano State Government under the leadership of Governor, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, for Initiating and sponsoring the National Conference, which demonstrates his patriotism and strong commitment toward enhancing peaceful co-existence, unity and development in the country. While appreciating the Kano state government for the Conference, the participants urged Governor Ganduje to use his good office and Influence to present the resolutions and proceedings of this National Conference before the National Council of State and the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF). This is another masterstroke by the very artful Ganduje who has thus urged the Conference Committee to prepare a Blueprint for solution to one of the problems that may greet new leaders that will emerge from the elections of February 25 and March 11, 2023.
I had then challenged the political leaders in the southern part of the country to be technically ready too with a blueprint for solution to some of the challenges plaguing the south and indeed the country in a strategic manner Governor Ganduje had done. Let’s continue in the second part on the story of the quality of the experts that put together the Livestock Reform agenda that has become a game changer in the hand of President Tinubu who is seeking to stimulate the Livestock Sector to create jobs, wealth and tackle insecurity. May be that will appeal to more Gandujes around the President who can bring experts together to tackle challenges in the critical sectors such as Education and Health.
