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We Supported Buhari To Win Election But He Has Abandoned Us – Miyetti Allah Cries Out

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We Supported Buhari To Win Election But He Has Abandoned Us - Miyetti Allah Cries Out
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The Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) has accused President Muhammadu Buhari of abandoning them after winning the 2019 election.

The group said they supported and mobilized support for Buhari to win the 2019 presidential election but after getting into office, the President has not fulfilled his promise.

MACBAN president, Baba Ngelzarma made the allegation on Saturday night in a chat with journalists in Abuja.

He argued that both at the state and federal levels of government, huge fund is always allocated for the development of agriculture but little or nothing of the allocation is dedicated to livestock development in particular.

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He said: “On the eve of the last election that brought in Buhari for the second term, we endorsed him. We showed the world that we are with him but thereafter, up till now as I speak to you, nothing has been done.

“Buhari has abandoned the pastoralists. This is very clear, whether Buhari or his lieutenants, the pastoralists have been abandoned by the government. In the last eight years, nothing tangible… while over N500 billion was spent on agronomy, nothing was spent on livestock, almost nothing.

“Go and check all the state government’s budgetary provisions including the federal government’s budgetary provisions. If you see what is budgeted for livestock, you will be surprised.

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“Livestock is being neglected completely.”

National Livestock Transformation Plan Is Not The Solution

Speaking further, Ngelzarma said the National Livestock Transformation Plan (NLTP) is a good initiative by the government but is not the solution to the challenges animal rearers are facing.

He said NLTP is only a model but can’t cater for the actual reality because of the limited number of animals it can cater for.

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He said: “Only recently the Buhari administration started implementing the National Livestock Transformation Plan (NLTP) where some states have accessed the N3 billion, N6 billion funding.

“Some states started it, the one in Yola has started but we see it as a project that cannot solve the problem.

“How do you think a livestock centre that can accommodate not more than 20,000 cows can solve the problem of the cows in Adamawa that are over two million? But as a model, it is okay, we appreciate it. At least the pastoralists will see how to modernize animal husbandry.”

Herdsmen Rejecting Ranching

Speaking on why herdsmen are not embracing ranching, the MACBAN president said it is alien to them and they don’t have enough enlightenment about it.

“Whatever mode of ranching that is being introduced into this country, these guys would hardly embrace it, the reason is it is alien to them as it is not capturing the reason they are rearing their cows,” he said.

“To them, the quality does not matter much, what matters much to them is the quantity. They also want to die and leave so many cows for their children to inherit.”