Senator Zaynab A. KURE: A LEGISLATIVE THOUGHT FOR PASTORIALISTS. ….the importance of the advocacy for such a bill is also the hinged on the promotion for a diversification from our current tedious reliance on oil and gas export. It is also based on the premise of exploiting the goldmine that the beef and dairy agro sub-sector represents, which has not been recognized as a viable area of investment overtime. Senator Zaynab Kure made a successful comeback bid to Niger South Senatorial District of Niger state in the recently concluded 2011 elections in Nigeria. As a member of the last assembly though a non-pastoralist herself she devoted considerable time and legislative energy to the plight of pastoralists in Nigeria. Sen. Kure is also the wife of the former Governor of Niger State who served for eight years. Fifty years on, a particular sector has defied the rapid changes of modernity. The fate of the Nigerian pastoralist has remained the same from antiquity to date; it is one of the few relics of our past that remains unfazed by change. Aside the acquisition of mobile phones by some pastoralist and the strengthened access to diagnosis and treatment of their cattle nothing new has been added to the itinerant repertoire of the Fulani herdsman. Yet, the major suppliers of beef and dairy products in a nation of 150 million people are still bedeviled by a myriad of problems. It is the aforementioned backdrop that inspired Sen. Zaynab A. Kure, senator representing the Niger South Senatorial district to advocate on behalf of pastoralists -her sponsorship of a bill for an act to provide for the establishment of National Grazing Reserves and Stock Routes and the creation of the National Grazing Reserve Commission. It is instructive to note that the importance of the advocacy for such a bill is also the hinged on the promotion for a diversification from our current tedious reliance on oil and gas export. It is also based on the premise of exploiting the goldmine that the beef and dairy agro sub-sector represents, which has not been recognized as a viable area of investment overtime. This is one of the motivations behind the Sen. Kure’s support for the creation of a National Grazing Reserve Commission. Fulani women selling cheese - grain.org(Photo: Mac Champagne) To fully explicate the latter is to understand the workings of a similar body in China which is responsible for processing leather, beef, milk, blood, cheese condiments and bones from cattle. Between 1988 and 1997 foreign exchange earned through the export of leather commodities went from 1.09 billion US$ to 9.95 billion US$, ranking first in terms of the capacity to earn foreign exchange within the light industry in China. Nigeria should borrow a leaf from the latter. There have been efforts in the past to develop this sector; Government intervention dates back to the period immediately after the attainment of political independence with the “Fulani Amenities Program” in 1965 the regional legislature passed the Grazing Reserve Law to give legal backing to grazing reserves and stock routes, the law empowered the Ministry of Animal and Forest Resources and native Authorities to acquire any given native land and constitute it into a grazing reserve. This scheme was later affected by the Civil War disturbances. This initiative contributed in no small measure to the establishment of faculty of veterinary and animal sciences at Ahmadu Bello University Zaria for the training of graduates and College of Animal Sciences of Mando. National rebuilding plans after the Civil War brought about a total of 22 million hectares of land area into grazing reserves. Unfortunately only about 2.84 million hectares have been acquired. Since that period there has been the First and Second Livestock Development Projects jointly financed by the Nigerian Government and World Bank, this was aimed at re-organising the production systems and promoting commercialisation in the livestock sub-sector. In the 90s the Petroleum Trust Fund under its pastoralist Development Program recommended the grazing of 22 reserves for rehabilitation. The latter plan did not come to fruition because of the abrupt end of the Fund in 1999. The subject has continued to elicit the attention of the Federal government without any substantial progress, in 2003 there was a The Presidential Committee on Livestock in 2003 presented a detailed assessment of the livestock of the livestock industry. This bill however represents a fresh opportunity to get it right. The greatest impact would stem from the harmonious co-existence that the bill would engender after its creation. It would minimise the level of conflicts between farmers and cattlemen, violent confrontations that had hitherto led to death and destruction property. The greatest hindrance to their well-being is another area the bill is trying to address -issues like the provision of grazing infrastructure from grazing land routes, fodder banks, dams of water and aqueducts and other amenities; it also spares a thought for their security from cattle rustlers and armed bandits. The legislation constituting grazing reserves in addition to establishing the National Grazing Reserves Commission will draw up clear guidelines for the users/beneficiaries of the grazing reserves and impose stiff penalties for all violators of the legislation. Those who grow cocoa, cotton, cassava etc enjoy government palliatives and presidential interventions it is only proper and fair that those in the business of cattle rearing should also be given similar advantages. Sen. Zaynab A. Kure’s perspective is rightly geared towards the creation of a sense of belonging for pastoralist who have for long languished at the fringes of government policies. The debate for a paradigm shift in this sector has a multiplier effect on our economy aside effectively managing the life of the pastoralist -whom read this is heading towards the lush grazing land by the banks of the Niger in Lokoja, but first he must meander his way around Nguru town. This is the food for thought for the rest of us. Alkasim Abdulladir is a journalist working with the BBC and a freelance writer, editor and contributor to many publications including Abuja 24 and NEXT. He is also a photographer and member of a collective. follow him on twitter twitter/alkayy
Posted on: Tue, 16 Jul 2013 23:16:10 +0000
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