NATION

Nigeria Treating Cattle Herders Unfairly – Ex Gov. Yuguda

Isa Yuguda, former governor of Bauchi State, has accused government of treating Fulani cattle herders unfairly. Yuguda said cattle herders, despite supplying the country “a minimum of one million cattle daily”, have been neglected. He rather advised government give subsidies to pastoralists.

“The neglect of the Fulani especially the cattle rearers who are presently giving Nigeria a minimum of one million cattle every day to slaughter and take as beef, their treatment by the Nigerian people have been most unfair”, said Yuguda.

The former governor, who is equally Fulani, said historically revenue from cattle rearing was used to develop Nigeria’s Northern part.

“…at the time when Lord Luggard finished conquering northern Nigeria, they (cattle rearing) were the only source of revenue. They provided the revenue that jumpstarted development in terms of monopolizing infrastructure in the north including Benue state where they have been chased out now”, he added.

‌“They are pastoralists, they are people who provide beef for the country and you can see them as agricultural ventures or animal husbandry. There have been billions and trillions of investments in agriculture, in the forms of subsidies for fertilizer and so on, have you ever heard the federal government subsidizing pastoralism?

“What I am saying, in essence, is that the Nigerian state has not been fair to these people. When the white man came, he respected them because they were his source of revenue, not only that he provided cattle routes from Maiduguri to Otukpo, from Sokoto to Lokoja and Ilorin and these infrastructures were provided by the white people.”

 

Credit: Daily Trust

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