President Bola Tinubu has announced the establishment of the Federal Ministry of Livestock Development.
The President revealed this on Tuesday during the inauguration of the Presidential Committee on Livestock Reforms at the Council Chamber in the State House, Abuja.
The Committee will be chaired by the President, with former Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) chairman Attahiru Jega serving as Deputy Chairman.
The Committee’s mandate is to propose recommendations that promote peaceful coexistence between herders and farmers while ensuring the security and economic well-being of all Nigerians.
Tinubu’s announcement comes 10 months after he approved the formation of the presidential committee to address clashes between herders and farmers and to strengthen the livestock and dairy industries.
The committee was established following the receipt of a report from the National Conference on Livestock Reforms and Mitigation of Associated Conflicts in Nigeria.
Chaired by All Progressives Congress (APC) National Chairman Abdullahi Ganduje, the committee presented 21 recommendations to the President, including the creation of a Ministry of Livestock Resources.
The President stated that the committee would collaborate with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security to develop lasting solutions to the longstanding crisis between farmers and herders, ensuring the security and economic well-being of all Nigerians.
He also mentioned that the Federal Government is fully prepared to cover the cost of acquiring land to facilitate coexistence between herders and farmers.
Conflict
Herders and farmers have been embroiled in a conflict over access to land and water for decades.
This conflict has resulted in hundreds of deaths in recent years, including a recent incident in Plateau State where over 100 people were killed last December.
The violence is often portrayed as an ethno-religious conflict between Muslim herders and predominantly Christian farmers. However, climate change and the expansion of agriculture are also significant contributing factors.
Plateau State is a region where the predominantly Muslim north meets the largely Christian south, and many communities are ethnically and religiously mixed.
The December attack occurred in the Mangu area, located 74 km (45 miles) southeast of the state capital, Jos. The city is primarily inhabited by the Muslim Fulani and Christian Mwagaful ethnic groups.