The Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum (SMBLF) has kicked against the Federal Government’s proposed pilot ranching programme, accusing the authorities of seeking to take over ancestral lands in the Middle Belt under the cover of livestock development.
The forum warned that the plan, if implemented without the consent and protection of affected communities, could deepen tensions in areas already affected by years of farmer-herder violence.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the group expressed particular concern over the proposed pilot locations in Nasarawa, Plateau, Benue, Southern Kaduna, Taraba and the Federal Capital Territory.
The statement was signed by SMBLF chairman, Oba Oladipo Olaitan; President of the Middle Belt Forum, Dr Bitrus Pogu; President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, John Azuta-Mbata; and National Chairman of PANDEF, Amb Godknows Igali.
The leaders described the proposed initiative as an “audacious attempt” to take over community lands through what they called a questionable pilot scheme under the New National Livestock Policy.
Their position came shortly after the Middle Belt Forum separately rejected the Federal Government’s renewed push for ranching in the region, warning that the proposed land allocations could facilitate land grabbing.
The Federal Government has presented ranching as part of efforts to modernise Nigeria’s livestock industry, curb open grazing and cattle movement, and address recurring clashes between farmers and herders.
The proposed programme reportedly targets conflict-affected areas in Benue, Plateau, Nasarawa, Kaduna, Adamawa and the FCT, with the Wase Grazing Reserve in Plateau State expected to serve as a model.
But the SMBLF questioned the rationale for concentrating the initiative in the Middle Belt when large areas of sparsely populated land exist in other parts of northern Nigeria.
“It is striking that this experiment is being concentrated almost entirely in the Middle Belt, despite the vast expanses of sparsely populated and unused land available in many parts of the far North,” the forum said.
The group stressed that it was not opposed to ranching or efforts to develop the livestock industry. Rather, it objected to what it described as the “opaque, coercive and discriminatory” approach being adopted by the government.
According to the leaders, ranching is a commercial venture that should primarily be driven by private investors and livestock owners, rather than through compulsory acquisition of community lands.
“Ranching is an economic enterprise that is privately driven. The government cannot disguise compulsory land acquisition for specific economic actors as public interest,” they said.
The forum also alleged that the proposed ranching arrangement could evolve into permanent settlement zones for nomadic Fulani herders, describing such a possibility as a major source of concern.
It further argued that communities that had suffered deaths, displacement and destruction during farmer-herder conflicts should not be expected to surrender additional land for ranching projects.
“They cannot be handed the lands of their victims as a reward for their heinous crimes,” the leaders said.
The SMBLF recalled earlier Federal Government initiatives, including the RUGA settlement proposal and cattle colony scheme, which generated widespread resistance in several states because of concerns over land ownership and permanent settlements.
It warned that the latest proposal could provoke similar reactions if the government proceeds without extensive consultation with host communities and state authorities.
The forum also raised questions about the legal framework for acquiring land for the project, stressing that provisions of the Land Use Act should not be used to justify arbitrary dispossession.
It demanded that the Federal Government make public comprehensive details of the programme, including the locations and sizes of proposed ranches, legal instruments for land acquisition, ownership arrangements, beneficiaries, funding sources and security plans.
The leaders insisted that implementation should not commence until the rights and interests of affected communities had been clearly addressed.
“Until these questions are answered transparently and the rights of affected communities are fully protected, the SMBLF rejects the proposed ranching scheme in the Middle Belt and the South,” they said.
The forum also urged governments and communities in Southern Nigeria to remain vigilant and resist any attempt to extend the scheme to their territories without proper consultation.
While proponents of ranching argue that it would help reduce open grazing and farmer-herder conflicts while improving livestock productivity, opponents fear that government-backed land acquisition could create new disputes and exacerbate existing ethnic and communal tensions.
The SMBLF maintained that livestock modernisation should not come at the expense of community ownership and livelihoods.
“Modernisation must not mean dispossession,” the leaders said, calling for a transparent, consultative and community-sensitive approach to any national livestock development programme.
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