Ibrahim Galma is the Assistant Secretary of Miyetti Allah Cattle
Breeders Association of Nigeria, MACBAN, Benue state chapter. In
this interview, the Graduate of Animal Science who spoke on behalf
of the leadership of the association in the state, gave an insight
into the life of the herdsman and his cattle, the challenges he
confronts daily and the herdsmen/farmers unending clashes.
Excerpts:
What are the challenges the herdsman faces as he takes out his
cattle in the morning for grazing and returns home in the
evening?
The number one challenge we face presently is that agricultural
activities have taken over grazing areas around the country. In the
time past we had areas that were carved out for herders as razing
routes but all that have been taken over by residential houses or
converted to farmland. That is a major challenge. We are left with
almost nothing. Herdsmen sometimes unknowingly stray into farmlands
and it becomes source of crisis.
The practice is that cows go to graze on virgin land or after
harvest. We do not take cattle to graze on people’s farms and in
the course of grazing the cattle drinks water up to four times in
the day. So we prefer to graze close to a river where we have
access to water but unfortunately farming activities have taken
over routes that lead to the river or water source. That is a major
challenge for us in several places. And because of the need for
water, if you must get to the source you’ll have to pass though a
farm. That also will lead to crisis which on our own we abhor
because the average herdsman is law abiding and would not want to
be involved in any form of crisis.
Another challenge we face is the fact that disease are ravaging
and killing our cows because of lack of adequate medical care.
Before now the Federal Government through the Ministry of
Agriculture ensured that cattle were immunized to check outbreak of
diseases among the herds and for the safety of the consumer but
that is not being done again. We are left on our own and that has
actually affected us as well because sometimes we lose our cattle
to diseases where we cannot assess medical attention maybe when we
are deep inside the bush and it is very difficult to reach
veterinary doctors.
In Benue state at the moment we are also faced with the
challenge of abiding strictly by the provisions of the Open Grazing
Prohibition Law. Our people are yet to get used to the new law
because of our literacy level so we will need a loot of
sensitization and advocacy.
We enjoy peaceful relationship with the people though
occasionally we have our misunderstanding which is normal in every
human relationship and with the coming of the new law which I must
confess is the best way to go in modern animal husbandry, we will
need massive sensitization because our people are not well educated
to understand what the law is all about so that they don’t feel
intimidated or harassed by those enforcing the law.
When a herdsman takes out his cows, does he have
specific places he goes for grazing?
Of course, the herdsman has specific places he takes his herds
to graze. You know that we are nomads, so when a herdsman enters a
settlement, the first thing he does is to identify the locals and
owners of the community to discuss and agree on the condition upon
which he could remain there in the community to graze. When that is
done the herder in line with the agreement reached with the owners
of the community takes his cattle to areas that have been allowed
him for grazing. You know that many of our rivers in this country
are seasonal, that is why the herdsman is always on the move to
find a suitable place for his herds especially because of lack of
water. You know that most of our rivers are seasonal in nature that
is why we are always on the move for greener pasture. So as he
settles down and continues to live with his host community, he
strictly abides by the rules of the place in order to avoid any
form of friction. And in case there are new entrants into the
community they will have to introduce themselves to the known
herdsman who will then take the stranger to the local farmers or
owners of the land to formally introduce the new comers. When that
is done if the people agree he is shown a route or area where he
would also carry out his grazing. So what I’m saying in effect is
that when we move to a community, we stick to the grazing route or
area arranged with the owners of the community, it ensures peaceful
coexistence. But sometimes we have issue maybe when cattle strays
or somebody will come from outside without doing the needful before
entering a community. It most times leads to crisis. But as law
abiding citizens we do our best to check such from happening.
When cows stray into farmlands to graze what does a
herdsman do?
Every sane herder knows that the farm is important to the crop
farmers like the cow is important to the herdsman. So it will be
absolutely unacceptable for you to allow your cow destroy the
farmland of anyone considering that he also ekes a living from the
farm. So when we have such a situation we ensure that the farm is
protected from destruction. That is why we always ensure we work
closely with the owners of the communities where we settle to
graze. Those who create problems for us are those who stray into
communities without doing the proper thing. Those are the people
creating problems and sometimes these same people rustle our cows.
They are the problem. We try as much as possible to live peacefully
with our hosts, that is why we live in such communities with our
families and our hosts know us and we know them. We even go as far
as intermarrying.
That brings us to the issue of ranching, If President
Buhari can ranch his cows, why can’t herdsmen ranch
theirs?
Buhari can ranch, I keep saying that ranching is good, but it is
quite expensive to ranch our local breed. I will give you an
example, to ranch 30 of the local Fulani cattle you will require
about N30 million a year to feed them. That is how expensive it is
to ranch our breed. However, I must say emphatically that ranching
is good but very expensive to go into. Ranching is good but it
should be a long time goal. It can be achieved but it has to be
planned overtime. It is not what you can attain within a short
time.
To start with, a temporary grazing area could be created to
enable the herdsmen start gradually. It is the same place you graze
that the farmer farms. So everyone must respect the right of the
other to avoid conflict. That brings to the fore the issue of
sensitization and advocacy to get the herders better informed on
the new policy. Government has to invest in advocacy and
sensitization to prepare the herdsmen for the new order.
I also suggest that there could also be semi ranching system
whereby the herdsman keeps the cattle in a confinement but once in
a while move the cattle out for grazing. That practice gradually
starts inculcating in the herdsman the idea of restricting and
confining his cows. These are things that could be done before we
arrive where we are heading which is full confinement and ranching.
Another idea is that routes could be created in such a way that we
go through there with the cows and come back through that same
route to the ranch. This will go a long way to help the situation
because every local government has herdsmen settlement from where
the movement could be anchored and if at the end of the day any
herder fails to stick to the rules he would be punished
accordingly.
Does each head of the cattle have a name, how were the
names given?
Yes they are given names. It works this way, there are two ways
of ownership of cow, you either inherit or buy. If you buy you give
it a suitable name. If that cow grows to have babies all of them
will bear the same name that their mother had. But when the number
of the cows becomes so high, for instance if they are in thousands,
you are left with the option of numbering them for easy
identification and the number will follow a pattern, usually a
family number pattern. This is the method we adopted since the
colonial times. It has helped us manage our herds as they grow in
seize and number and as we relate with the veterinary doctors.
How does the herdsman communicate with his cows, do they
recognise his voice and follow his instructions?
Cows have sensitive organs, with the nose they recognize the
herdsman. They can dictate the smile of the herdsman. If I am
grazing the cattle and danger is ahead, the cow raises its ears to
alert me. The cows recognize their owners even from the smell of
their clothes. For instance if a Vet doctor comes to my father’s
house to give injection to the cows my father would give his
clothes to the doctor to wear before injecting them, so on
perceiving the smell of the clothes they would allow the Vet to
come close. So they know their owners anytime and when we speak
they understand but whenever they disobey we use our cane and they
take corrections.
Does the herder take along his own food as he leads his
cows into the bush?
Yes we do, but what sustains the herdsman is the milk from the
cow which he does not joke with. Though at night we also take any
food which we buy as we move. But the fact is that the milk
nourishes the herder and it keeps him going. Normally the herdsman
is not the food eater, we burn our energy and eat very little. The
cow milk is highly nutritious, we eat very little in the morning
and add the cow milk which keeps us healthy and filled for several
hours.
Is it true that the loss of a cow is more painful to a
herdsman than the loss of a child?
That is obviously not true. How can the life of a cow be more
important than the live of a human being or a child. It is not true
at all. Though we love our cow and we would not want anything to
hurt them but the life of a human being or our children cannot be
compared to the life of an animal. So those saying that are not
aware of what they are saying.
How do you defend your herds when a wild animal attacks
them in the bush?
I defend my herds with my very sharp knife, cutlasses and sticks
and you know that the cattle also defends herself when attacked
sometimes.
How can we solve once and for all the clashes between
herdsmen and farmers?
We must continue to sensitize the herder, you know that our
level of education is another challenge but there is always a
solution to every problem. Government has to invest in advocacy and
sensitization to prepare the herdsmen. Like I said earlier, we
could start with semi ranching system backed with intensive
sensitization of the herdsmen, gradually we will get to full
ranching which I also believe is a good model for breeding cows but
we could take it one step after another until it is fully achieved.
I have nothing against ranching as a person because it is the best
way to go but let’s not do it overnight. It could be introduced
gradually with aggressive campaign and sensitization. Ranching is
the best way to go but we need the enabling environment for it to
be a reality. The Federal government has to step in for it to work.
I believe that at the end of the day the issue would be permanently
addressed.
Ibrahim Galma is the Assistant Secretary of Miyetti Allah Cattle
Breeders Association of Nigeria, MACBAN, Benue state chapter. In
this interview, the Graduate of Animal Science who spoke on behalf
of the leadership of the association in the state, gave an insight
into the life of the herdsman and his cattle, the challenges he
confronts daily and the herdsmen/farmers unending clashes.
Excerpts:
What are the challenges the herdsman faces as he takes out his
cattle in the morning for grazing and returns home in the
evening?
The number one challenge we face presently is that agricultural
activities have taken over grazing areas around the country. In the
time past we had areas that were carved out for herders as razing
routes but all that have been taken over by residential houses or
converted to farmland. That is a major challenge. We are left with
almost nothing. Herdsmen sometimes unknowingly stray into farmlands
and it becomes source of crisis.
The practice is that cows go to graze on virgin land or after
harvest. We do not take cattle to graze on people’s farms and in
the course of grazing the cattle drinks water up to four times in
the day. So we prefer to graze close to a river where we have
access to water but unfortunately farming activities have taken
over routes that lead to the river or water source. That is a major
challenge for us in several places. And because of the need for
water, if you must get to the source you’ll have to pass though a
farm. That also will lead to crisis which on our own we abhor
because the average herdsman is law abiding and would not want to
be involved in any form of crisis.
Another challenge we face is the fact that disease are ravaging
and killing our cows because of lack of adequate medical care.
Before now the Federal Government through the Ministry of
Agriculture ensured that cattle were immunized to check outbreak of
diseases among the herds and for the safety of the consumer but
that is not being done again. We are left on our own and that has
actually affected us as well because sometimes we lose our cattle
to diseases where we cannot assess medical attention maybe when we
are deep inside the bush and it is very difficult to reach
veterinary doctors.
In Benue state at the moment we are also faced with the
challenge of abiding strictly by the provisions of the Open Grazing
Prohibition Law. Our people are yet to get used to the new law
because of our literacy level so we will need a loot of
sensitization and advocacy.
We enjoy peaceful relationship with the people though
occasionally we have our misunderstanding which is normal in every
human relationship and with the coming of the new law which I must
confess is the best way to go in modern animal husbandry, we will
need massive sensitization because our people are not well educated
to understand what the law is all about so that they don’t feel
intimidated or harassed by those enforcing the law.
When a herdsman takes out his cows, does he have
specific places he goes for grazing?
Of course, the herdsman has specific places he takes his herds
to graze. You know that we are nomads, so when a herdsman enters a
settlement, the first thing he does is to identify the locals and
owners of the community to discuss and agree on the condition upon
which he could remain there in the community to graze. When that is
done the herder in line with the agreement reached with the owners
of the community takes his cattle to areas that have been allowed
him for grazing. You know that many of our rivers in this country
are seasonal, that is why the herdsman is always on the move to
find a suitable place for his herds especially because of lack of
water. You know that most of our rivers are seasonal in nature that
is why we are always on the move for greener pasture. So as he
settles down and continues to live with his host community, he
strictly abides by the rules of the place in order to avoid any
form of friction. And in case there are new entrants into the
community they will have to introduce themselves to the known
herdsman who will then take the stranger to the local farmers or
owners of the land to formally introduce the new comers. When that
is done if the people agree he is shown a route or area where he
would also carry out his grazing. So what I’m saying in effect is
that when we move to a community, we stick to the grazing route or
area arranged with the owners of the community, it ensures peaceful
coexistence. But sometimes we have issue maybe when cattle strays
or somebody will come from outside without doing the needful before
entering a community. It most times leads to crisis. But as law
abiding citizens we do our best to check such from happening.
When cows stray into farmlands to graze what does a
herdsman do?
Every sane herder knows that the farm is important to the crop
farmers like the cow is important to the herdsman. So it will be
absolutely unacceptable for you to allow your cow destroy the
farmland of anyone considering that he also ekes a living from the
farm. So when we have such a situation we ensure that the farm is
protected from destruction. That is why we always ensure we work
closely with the owners of the communities where we settle to
graze. Those who create problems for us are those who stray into
communities without doing the proper thing. Those are the people
creating problems and sometimes these same people rustle our cows.
They are the problem. We try as much as possible to live peacefully
with our hosts, that is why we live in such communities with our
families and our hosts know us and we know them. We even go as far
as intermarrying.
That brings us to the issue of ranching, If President
Buhari can ranch his cows, why can’t herdsmen ranch
theirs?
Buhari can ranch, I keep saying that ranching is good, but it is
quite expensive to ranch our local breed. I will give you an
example, to ranch 30 of the local Fulani cattle you will require
about N30 million a year to feed them. That is how expensive it is
to ranch our breed. However, I must say emphatically that ranching
is good but very expensive to go into. Ranching is good but it
should be a long time goal. It can be achieved but it has to be
planned overtime. It is not what you can attain within a short
time.
To start with, a temporary grazing area could be created to
enable the herdsmen start gradually. It is the same place you graze
that the farmer farms. So everyone must respect the right of the
other to avoid conflict. That brings to the fore the issue of
sensitization and advocacy to get the herders better informed on
the new policy. Government has to invest in advocacy and
sensitization to prepare the herdsmen for the new order.
I also suggest that there could also be semi ranching system
whereby the herdsman keeps the cattle in a confinement but once in
a while move the cattle out for grazing. That practice gradually
starts inculcating in the herdsman the idea of restricting and
confining his cows. These are things that could be done before we
arrive where we are heading which is full confinement and ranching.
Another idea is that routes could be created in such a way that we
go through there with the cows and come back through that same
route to the ranch. This will go a long way to help the situation
because every local government has herdsmen settlement from where
the movement could be anchored and if at the end of the day any
herder fails to stick to the rules he would be punished
accordingly.
Does each head of the cattle have a name, how were the
names given?
Yes they are given names. It works this way, there are two ways
of ownership of cow, you either inherit or buy. If you buy you give
it a suitable name. If that cow grows to have babies all of them
will bear the same name that their mother had. But when the number
of the cows becomes so high, for instance if they are in thousands,
you are left with the option of numbering them for easy
identification and the number will follow a pattern, usually a
family number pattern. This is the method we adopted since the
colonial times. It has helped us manage our herds as they grow in
seize and number and as we relate with the veterinary doctors.
How does the herdsman communicate with his cows, do they
recognise his voice and follow his instructions?
Cows have sensitive organs, with the nose they recognize the
herdsman. They can dictate the smile of the herdsman. If I am
grazing the cattle and danger is ahead, the cow raises its ears to
alert me. The cows recognize their owners even from the smell of
their clothes. For instance if a Vet doctor comes to my father’s
house to give injection to the cows my father would give his
clothes to the doctor to wear before injecting them, so on
perceiving the smell of the clothes they would allow the Vet to
come close. So they know their owners anytime and when we speak
they understand but whenever they disobey we use our cane and they
take corrections.
Does the herder take along his own food as he leads his
cows into the bush?
Yes we do, but what sustains the herdsman is the milk from the
cow which he does not joke with. Though at night we also take any
food which we buy as we move. But the fact is that the milk
nourishes the herder and it keeps him going. Normally the herdsman
is not the food eater, we burn our energy and eat very little. The
cow milk is highly nutritious, we eat very little in the morning
and add the cow milk which keeps us healthy and filled for several
hours.
Is it true that the loss of a cow is more painful to a
herdsman than the loss of a child?
That is obviously not true. How can the life of a cow be more
important than the live of a human being or a child. It is not true
at all. Though we love our cow and we would not want anything to
hurt them but the life of a human being or our children cannot be
compared to the life of an animal. So those saying that are not
aware of what they are saying.
How do you defend your herds when a wild animal attacks
them in the bush?
I defend my herds with my very sharp knife, cutlasses and sticks
and you know that the cattle also defends herself when attacked
sometimes.
How can we solve once and for all the clashes between
herdsmen and farmers?
We must continue to sensitize the herder, you know that our
level of education is another challenge but there is always a
solution to every problem. Government has to invest in advocacy and
sensitization to prepare the herdsmen. Like I said earlier, we
could start with semi ranching system backed with intensive
sensitization of the herdsmen, gradually we will get to full
ranching which I also believe is a good model for breeding cows but
we could take it one step after another until it is fully achieved.
I have nothing against ranching as a person because it is the best
way to go but let’s not do it overnight. It could be introduced
gradually with aggressive campaign and sensitization. Ranching is
the best way to go but we need the enabling environment for it to
be a reality. The Federal government has to step in for it to work.
I believe that at the end of the day the issue would be permanently
addressed.
Read more https://nairalaw.com/how-to-avoid-herdsmen-farmers-unending-clashes-miyetti-allah-cattle-breeders/