The Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) says many of its members are being pushed into poverty as a result of bandit attacks and cattle rustling.
Secretary-General of the herders group, Baba Othman Ngelzarma stated this in an interview published by The Punch.
“The livestock industry is all already failing. The producers are being rendered poor; the meat no longer comes to the market in large quantity because some of the pastoralists are trying to move out of the country for fear of attacks by bandits, who forcefully take their cows from them.
“We have lost about 15 per cent of the pastoralists,” he said.
He warned that banditry and cattle rustling would continue to cause a hike in the price of beef in the country and lead to loss of livelihood for many of the herders, which could cause them to take to crime.
Ngelzarma added, “The pastoralists are not being spared by the kidnappers, who attack them on a daily basis. And because of the rate at which our members’ cattle are being taken away, so many families have been rendered poor and you know they don’t have formal education to survive on, the only career and skill they have is to rear cattle, they don’t know anything. And when these cows are taken away from them, they become idle and an idle hand is the devil’s workshop. They become an easy prey for initiation into criminality. No education, no work, idleness, poverty and possession of arms, what do you expect to happen?
He lamented the killing and kidnapping of herders, including a recent incident i in Abuja, saying it has caused the price of beef to skyrocket across the country.
On the Abuja killings, the Miyetti Allah scribe said, “Our Chairman in the Gwagwalada area council was killed with one Gwari man and two other persons.
“They were ambushed by bandits and killed and in the process four other people were also kidnapped.
“It happened on April 7 around 8 o’clock in the evening. They were coming from a cattle market on the road to Daku village. They took away from them the proceeds of the cows they sold and they are demanding N100m ransom to free those kidnapped.”
He said that despite many of the bandits being Fulani, it has not stopped the attacks on MACBAN members, who are also Fulani.
He added, “There is no doubt that a large number of them are Fulani, but this, of course, does not stop them from killing many (of our people) and taking away cows from the pasture at the same time.
“A criminal can come from any tribe and they don’t select their victims. Whoever comes their way; they kill, kidnap and take away their cows.
He added, “However, our appeal to the government is, though they are doing their best, they should redouble their efforts in protecting the cattle breeders and other Nigerians alike against the activities of this criminal group,” Ngelzarma said.