The Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria has called on state governors to allocate grazing reserves originally designated for herders in the 1960s.
This request was made by MACBAN President Baba Othman-Ngelzarma during an appearance on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily program on Wednesday.
Othman-Ngelzarma suggested that the “preservation” and “protection” of these grazing reserves, particularly in the 19 northern states, could help resolve the ongoing farmer-herder conflicts.
His statement followed President Bola Tinubu’s announcement of a new ministry dedicated to livestock development.
Othman-Ngelzarma emphasized that the livestock sector holds significant economic potential for Nigeria if properly harnessed.
He clarified that herders are not interested in land grabbing but rather in settlements.
“Talking about land grabbing, even in the northern part of the country where the pastoralists belong, they don’t have lands. They don’t care about land; they stay in the forests (and) when development reaches them, they move further into the forests,” he said.
When questioned about whether state governors would need to provide land for settlement or ranching, Othman-Ngelzarma noted, “Do they need the state governments to give them (herders) lands? We have areas that are dedicated as grazing reserves. We have about 415 of them all located in the northern part of the country covering about six million hectares of land. There are some encroachments on them but if you minus the encroachments, you will still have about five million hectares of land that are dedicated for grazing, have laws for them for grazing, the lands are there.”
