Fulani leaders have presented President Bola Tinubu with new policy demands centred on Nigeria’s estimated N30 trillion livestock industry, arguing that the sector needs substantially more funding, legal protection and a clearer development strategy.
The demands were issued on Sunday in Abuja at an international press conference organised by the Confederation of Pastoralist NGOs, known as CONPA, and the Kautal Pulaku Fulbe Association of Nigeria.
Funding and grazing-reserve demands
- Abdullahi Ardo, the association’s general secretary, called for 30% of Nigeria’s agricultural budget to be allocated to the Ministry of Livestock Development.
- He asked the government to formally gazette and secure 417 grazing reserves across the country.
- He also requested pilot ranching projects and fodder-production programmes in each of Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones.
Ardo praised Tinubu for establishing the Ministry of Livestock Development in 2024, following six decades of calls for a dedicated institution for the sector. However, he said the ministry has so far received little funding and still lacks a defined operating framework.
“Livestock is a N30 trillion economy. It cannot be treated with levity,” Ardo said.
Security concerns and dialogue proposal
The Fulani representatives also sought investigations into attacks on pastoralist communities in Plateau, Niger, Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara states. They said hundreds of people, including women and children, had been killed, while cattle had been stolen and Ruga settlements destroyed.
“We are Nigerians. We are pastoralists. We are not bandits. We love this country. Our cattle feed this nation. Criminals are criminals and have no tribe,” Ardo said.
The groups proposed a national dialogue involving Miyetti Allah, the Christian Association of Nigeria, Jama’atu Nasril Islam and security agencies. They said such talks were needed to resolve the farmer-herder conflict, which they said has claimed more than 20,000 lives over the past decade.
