Leaders of Nigeria's Fulani pastoralist groups have called on President Bola Tinubu and the National Assembly to allocate at least 30 per cent of the agricultural budget to the Ministry of Livestock Development and establish pilot ranches across the country's six geopolitical zones. The Confederation of Pastoralists also wants the government to protect 417 grazing reserves and investigate what they describe as mass killings of herders in several states. Abdullahi Ardo, General Secretary of the Kautal Pulaku Fulbe Association of Nigeria, made the demands during a press conference in Abuja on Sunday.
The livestock ministry was established by President Tinubu in 2024 with the goal of reducing farmer-herder conflicts through ranching, pasture development and improved infrastructure, and to transform Nigeria's livestock sector from traditional subsistence farming into a modern, commercial and globally competitive industry. However, Ardo said the ministry remains largely without funding or a clear operational framework years after its creation. He urged the government to activate the ministry at community level and to immediately protect the 417 grazing reserves and start pilot ranches and fodder production across the six zones.
Ardo reported that hundreds of pastoralists have been killed in recent months in coordinated attacks in Plateau, Niger, Sokoto, Kebbi, Zamfara and other areas, with women, children and the elderly among the victims. He said thousands of cattle were rustled or killed and entire settlements burnt down. The leaders claimed that farmer-herder conflicts have claimed more than 20,000 lives over the past 10 years and described the livestock sector as a 30 trillion naira economy that cannot be treated with indifference.
The pastoralist groups demanded that the Federal Government direct the National Emergency Management Agency and the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons to provide relief materials to displaced victims, as it does for other affected communities. They also called for security agencies to provide protection to pastoralists as Nigerian citizens. Ardo added that an independent investigation into the reported mass killings is needed, along with compensation and justice for victims.
The leaders urged President Tinubu to convene a national dialogue involving Miyetti Allah groups, religious leaders, traditional rulers, security agencies and state governments to address farmer-herder conflicts, with a focus on justice, compensation and peaceful coexistence. They called on federal and state governments, traditional rulers, farmers' groups, security agencies and development partners to collaborate on lasting solutions, emphasizing equal access to justice, inclusive security and development, and peaceful coexistence as essential for national development.
For savers, borrowers, business owners and investors, increased livestock sector investment could reshape agricultural financing, land use patterns and rural security across Nigeria's pastoral regions.