‘Middle Belt, South won’t accept proposed livestock ranching scheme’ – SMBLF
The Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum (SMBLF) has raised alarms about the Federal Government’s plan to acquire land from ethnic communities in the Middle Belt under what it describes as a questionable pilot initiative associated with a new National Livestock Policy.
The forum outlined that the targeted regions encompass Nasarawa, Plateau, Benue, Southern Kaduna, Taraba, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
In a statement released on Wednesday, the SMBLF, represented by its leaders including Oba Oladipo Olaitan of Afenifere, Dr. Bitrus Pogu of the Middle Belt Forum, Senator John Azuta-Mbata of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, and Ambassador Godknows Igali of PANDEF, noted the concentration of this initiative in the Middle Belt. They highlighted the availability of vast, uninhabited land in the northern regions, typically under the control of Fulani Emirs.
The forum cautioned that while the scheme is being presented as a pilot project, failure to oppose it could lead to expansion into other parts of the country, including Southern states.
SMBLF members emphasized their support for modern livestock production, ranching, and livestock value chain development, but they criticized the perceived opaque, coercive, and discriminatory approach of the policy, which they argue favors nomadic Fulani herdsmen disproportionately.
“The SMBLF stands firmly with the Middle Belt Forum (MBF), which has already rejected the scheme,” the statement indicated. It urged communities and governments in Southern states to prepare to oppose the policy.
The SMBLF reminded the Federal Government that the Land Use Act of 1978 does not permit arbitrary land seizure. The law vests rural land in local governments, acknowledging customary rights of occupancy and allowing for land revocation only in cases of overriding public interest. It also safeguards agricultural land as a communal resource.
The forum stated that ranching should be recognized as a privately driven economic activity and argued against the characterization of compulsory land acquisition as a matter of public interest.
Concerns were raised regarding the potential underlying intention of the policy: establishing permanent settlement zones for nomadic Fulani herdsmen, whom they accuse of violence that has led to significant land occupation in the Middle Belt and parts of the South.
The statement highlighted that some of the nomadic pastoralists involved may not be Nigerian citizens, and any policy that disregards this reality while allocating significant ancestral lands to them would be unacceptable to indigenous populations in the Middle Belt and the South.
Similar initiatives, previously labeled as RUGA and Cattle Colony proposals, had faced substantial opposition from Nigerians due to fears they would threaten land ownership and lead to demographic changes.
“The SMBLF will not accept such a policy. We warn the Federal Government that the Middle Belt and the South are not dumping grounds for controversial land policies,” the statement said, stressing that these lands are vital for local communities’ farming, housing, and livelihoods.
Should the Federal Government insist on moving forward with the policy, the SMBLF demanded comprehensive transparency regarding ranching sites, legal acquisition instruments, ownership structures, security concerns, beneficiary identities, land sizes, and funding sources.
The forum concluded that until these issues are addressed and the rights of affected communities are secured, it firmly rejects the proposed ranching scheme in the Middle Belt and the South, pledging to resist any attempts to appropriate community lands under the guise of livestock development.
