South, Middle Belt leaders vow to resist Nigerian govt’s planned land acquisition for ranching

The Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum (SMBLF) has declared its opposition to the Nigerian government's plan to seize community lands for ranching under the guise of a new National Livestock Policy. The Forum cautioned against allocating lands to pastoralists, who they claim have killed and displaced thousands of farmers in their communities.

In a statement issued by SMBLF chairman, Oba Oladipo Olaitan, and other leaders like Dr Bitrus Pogu, President of the Middle Belt Forum (MBF); Senator John Azuta-Mbata, President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide; and Ambassador Godknows Igali, National Chairman of PANDEF, the group strongly defended the MBF's previous rejection of the scheme.

The SMBLF emphasized that while they support modern livestock production and the development of the livestock value chain, they vehemently reject the coercive and discriminatory manner in which this policy is being implemented, primarily benefiting nomadic Fulani herdsmen. The forum expressed concern that this policy, being concentrated almost entirely in the Middle Belt, could be expanded to other parts of the country if not firmly opposed by affected communities.

Olaitan warned that the true objective of this policy might be to establish permanent settlement zones for nomadic Fulani herdsmen, whose violent actions have displaced thousands of people and seized vast amounts of land across the Middle Belt and parts of the South. The forum also pointed out that some of these pastoralists are not Nigerian citizens.

They argued that any policy prioritizing these individuals' interests at the expense of indigenous communities' ancestral lands is unacceptable. The SMBLF vowed not to accept such a policy and warned the Federal Government that the Middle Belt and the South are not designated for such controversial land distribution schemes.