The Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) says farmer-herder clashes in the country have claimed the lives of over 15,000 pastoralists and four million cattle heads in the last 10 years.
The president of the association, Alhaji Baba Ngelzarma, who gave the figures, said it had resolved to check drug abuse and the proliferation of firearms among pastoralists.
These, he said, would help to address the insecurity problem, which had begun to have a negative impact on the nation’s food security.
Ngelzarma told a news conference after an emergency National Executive Council meeting of the association that it was taking steps to fish out bad eggs in its fold.
The meeting was held in the Paiko Local Government Area of Niger State on Saturday, News Agency of Nigeria reported.
Founded in 1970, MACBAN is a loose partisan advocacy group centred on promoting the welfare of pastoralists in Nigeria.
Ngelzarma said, “As leaders and parents, we resolved to fish out bad eggs among pastoralists and sensitise them to drug abuse and the proliferation of small arms and light weapons.”
He said the state executive committees of the association would soon meet to evolve ways to complement the government’s efforts towards checking youth restiveness among pastoralists.
Ngelzarma added that to complement the Federal Government’s efforts in ensuring food security, the association had established a business arm called “MACBAN Concept and Solution.’’
The concept, he explained, was to give members of the association a new representation as a business rather than a cultural body.
He said the association would invite traders from major markets and other critical stakeholders to work with its members to propose solutions to the current food crisis in the country.
