The Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum (SMBLF) has rejected the Federal Government’s proposed pilot ranching scheme in parts of the Middle Belt, describing it as a potential attempt to take over ancestral lands under the guise of livestock development.
The forum, in a statement issued on Wednesday and signed by its 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, also urged communities and governments in the Southern states to remain vigilant and prepare to resist any expansion of the policy.
The SMBLF expressed particular concern over the proposed pilot locations, which include Nasarawa, Plateau, Benue, Southern Kaduna, Taraba and the Federal Capital Territory.
The leaders said the forum was “alarmed by the audacious attempt by the Federal Government to take over lands belonging to ethnic communities in the Middle Belt under a spurious ‘pilot scheme’ being introduced in the name of a New National Livestock Policy.”
The development comes days after the Middle Belt Forum similarly rejected the Federal Government’s renewed ranching initiative, arguing that the allocation of land in the region for livestock production could amount to land grabbing.
The Federal Government has said the ranching programme is designed to modernise livestock production, reduce open cattle movement and address the persistent farmer-herder crisis.
The proposed initiative reportedly targets conflict-prone areas, including Benue, Plateau, Nasarawa, Kaduna, Adamawa and the FCT, with the Wase Grazing Reserve in Plateau State identified as a pilot model.
However, the SMBLF questioned why the programme was being concentrated largely in the Middle Belt despite, according to the forum, the availability of sparsely populated land in parts of the far North.
“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 leaders said.
The forum stressed that it was not opposed to ranching or the development of Nigeria’s livestock sector, but objected to what it described as the “opaque, coercive and discriminatory” manner in which the policy was being pursued.
According to the leaders, ranching should primarily be a private economic enterprise and should not be used as a justification for compulsory acquisition of community lands.
The SMBLF also expressed concern that the policy could eventually lead to the creation of permanent settlement areas for nomadic Fulani herders, an allegation that the Federal Government and supporters of the initiative would need to address.
The forum linked its opposition to the long history of farmer-herder conflicts and displacement across parts of the Middle Belt, arguing that communities affected by violence should not be subjected to further loss of land through a government-backed ranching programme.
The leaders also recalled previous Federal Government initiatives, including the RUGA and cattle colony proposals, which faced strong opposition in parts of the country over concerns about land ownership, settlement patterns and demographic changes.
They warned that implementing the current proposal without broad consultation could further inflame tensions in affected communities.
The SMBLF also raised legal concerns over land acquisition, arguing that the Land Use Act of 1978 should not be interpreted as a licence for arbitrary acquisition of community lands.
The forum demanded full disclosure from the Federal Government on the proposed ranching sites, the legal instruments backing their acquisition, ownership arrangements, intended beneficiaries, size of the lands involved, security measures and sources of funding.
It insisted that implementation should not begin until the rights and interests of affected communities had been clearly protected.
“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,” the leaders declared.
The forum further warned that it would resist any attempt to seize community lands under the guise of livestock development and urged Southern states and communities to remain vigilant against any future expansion of the policy.
While proponents of the ranching initiative argue that modern livestock production could reduce farmer-herder clashes and transform Nigeria’s livestock industry, opponents maintain that poorly designed land acquisition could worsen existing tensions.
The SMBLF maintained that livestock development could be achieved without dispossessing communities of their ancestral lands.
“Modernisation must not mean dispossession,” the forum said, calling for any sustainable livestock policy to be transparent, voluntary where applicable and developed through meaningful consultation with communities whose lands and livelihoods may be affected.
