Miyetti Allah back Tinubu for 2027, point to livestock ministry
- Di cattle breeders association don declare support for President Tinubu second term for one rally wey happun for Kaduna.
- Im president talk say di livestock ministry wey dem create for 2024 na answer to demand wey don dey for decades.
- Di livestock minister list di sector herd sizes and talk say seven veterinary hospitals don ready.
Di National President of di Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), Baba Othman Ngelzarma, don throw di association weight behind President Bola Tinubu bid for second term for 2027.
He announce di support for one rally for Kaduna on Saturday, talk say herders and livestock traders wan repay one administration wey dem believe don finally take their industry serious.
Di rally na Fulbe APC Forum and di Tinubu Yeso-Yeso Political Forum put together, dem work with pastoralist and trader groups and one umbrella body of livestock dealers and butchers. Di theme na "United for Inclusion, Representation and Prosperity."
For ordinary Nigerians, di gathering no too matter as political endorsement, but as window into one sector wey dey shape di price of meat, milk and hides for markets across di country.
Why di ministry be di talking point
Ngelzarma talk say di creation of di Federal Ministry of Livestock Development for July 2024 meet one demand wey pastoralists don push for decades. He talk say di move don also nudge some state governments to set up their own livestock agencies.
"Di creation of di livestock ministry na something we don dey advocate for and look forward to for decades," he talk for di event.
Di Minister of Livestock Development, Idi Mukhtar Maiha, tell di rally say di sector problems well known: too few veterinary services, scarce pasture and water, costly feed, weak markets and low output.
He put Nigeria stock at about 58 million cattle, 124 million goats, 70 million sheep, 9.3 million pigs, 3.2 million donkeys, 700,000 camels and 300 million birds, and talk say those numbers represent money wey dey wait to be made.
Maiha talk say seven veterinary hospitals don complete and equip under one World Bank-backed programme, with more on di way. Di plan, he talk, na to spread veterinary services to all 36 states and di Federal Capital Territory, and eventually to primary facilities for di 774 local government areas.
He ask livestock associations to spend di next three months to identify their members problems and propose practical fixes.
On di recurring clashes between farmers and herders, di minister call for dialogue and careful sharing of land and water, talk say di industry no fit grow without peace between di two groups. He also urge young people to see livestock as business, not just tradition.
Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani, wey Agriculture Commissioner Murtala Dabo represent, talk say di state livestock budget don rise from ₦1.48 billion for 2023 to more than ₦100 billion for 2026. He talk say di state don sink solar-powered water points for pastoralist communities, widen vaccination drives and start artificial insemination services.
Better feeding and breeding, he talk, don lift milk output from some cattle from about 1.5 litres to between three and four litres.
Di state also dey upgrade abattoirs and other facilities along di livestock chain.
Wetin go happen next
Di associations get three months to bring their proposals to di ministry. Whether di promised veterinary network and market upgrades go reach herders outside Kaduna go be di test of di claims wey dem make for di rally.
