The Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum (SMBLF) has faulted the federal government’s plan to establish pilot cattle ranches in 10 states of the federation.
It would be recalled that National Economic Council (NEC) had approved a 10-year National Livestock Implementation Plan which will cost about N179 billion to build 94 cattle ranches in Adamawa, Benue, Ebonyi, Edo, Kaduna, Nasarawa, Oyo, Plateau, Taraba and Zamfara states under the National Livestock Implementation Plan.
It announced on Tuesday plans to establish pilot ranches in Adamawa, Benue, Ebonyi, Edo, Kaduna, Nasarawa, Oyo, Plateau, Taraba and Zamfara adding that about N70 billion of the budget will be disbursed between this year and the expiration of President Muhammadu Buhari’s first four-year tenure in 2019.
The project is expected to take off in Benue and Nasarawa states that have been the theatre of bloodbath occasioned by deadly attacks by armed herdsmen.
But the SMBLF made up of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Afenifere, Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) and the Middle Belt Forum, said in a statement jointly signed by Senator Bassey Henshaw, Yinka Odumakin, Prof Chigozie Ogbu and Dr. Isuwa Dogo, that it was opposed to using tax payers’ money to fund private business because “cattle rearing is private business in which individuals make billions of naira with no record of what they pay as taxes.”
In a statement issued on Wednesday in response to the N179 billion cattle ranches fund, the coalition described the proposal as “vexatious.”
Although the group commended the federal government for embracing ranching, it maintained that cattle rearing is a private business and warned against such huge amount to establish ranches for herdsmen who “are private businessmen.”
The Forum further stated that the 2014 National Conference had recommended ranching as being done in all civilised countries.
“We commend the coming to terms with modernisation 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 three years with not a soul under prosecution and top functionaries of the administration making excuses for the killers.
“We, however, object to the federal government’s decision to spend N179 billion of public funds to build these ranches over 10 years starting with N70 billion under this administration.
“Cattle rearing is 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 is 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 and 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’.
“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 to 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,” said the Forum.
