27 December 2011
More than 2,000 Nigerian cattle grazers migrated to Cameroon and the Central African Republic between January 2009 and July this year due to the recurring conflicts between farmers and grazers in the North-East region.
Dr Walia Hamman, the North-East Coordinator of the National Livestock Development Projects, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Yola that no fewer than 2.3 million cattle, sheep and goats were lost to the two neighbouring countries.
He listed the most affected states as Taraba, Adamawa and Borno, saying that the 2007 livestock and grazers census showed that most of the affected pastoralists were Nigerians while only four and three per cent were from Chad and Niger Republics respectively.
Hamman said the major flash point of the migration was in the Sardauna (Mambila) Local Government Area in Taraba where, in the years under review, no fewer than 1,200 pastoralists fled.
He said the combined efforts by the federal and the affected states to get them back had failed. “Most of the pastoralists contacted refused to come back, alleging poor security of their lives and property”, he said.
The projects coordinator expressed regret that the development had caused Nigeria billions of naira in revenue generation annually and appealed for a solution.
“Federal, state and local governments generate millions of naira monthly from the levy on cattle and the recent development has caused a loss in billions of naira in tax generation, leading to high prices of cattle in parts of the country.”
Hamman commended Taraba and Adamawa states for establishing a Ministry of Livestock and Nomadic Settlement to combat the situation. (NAN)
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