Cattle Herders’ Group Happy With Senate President’s Fair Comments 

By Abdulkareem Haruna

Kulen Allah Cattle Rearers Association of Nigeria (KACRAN), a Fulani socio-cultural and economic group, had on Wednesday said it was delighted by the renewed commitment of the National Assembly to bring the issues of bettering the policies around livestock business in Nigeria. 

The group had specifically commended the  Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, for saying that he would do everything humanly possible to end the total neglect of the livestock sector in the country. 

The Senate President said this at the  opening of the 2022 edition of Distinguished Parliamentarians Lecture, organized by National Institute of Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS).

While declaring the event open, the Senate president raised concerns about the “lip services” the Nigerian central government, as well as the states, have been playing over a critical economic sector like the livestock business.

The number-3 public office holder was quoted to have said that “the federal government and most of our state governments are not doing the needful by making adequate budgetary provisions for bettering the lives of the nation’s pastoralists.” 

The National leader of KACRAN, Khalil Mohammed Bello, has in a statement shared with The Humanitarian Times noted that the government of Nigeria has not done enough in the planned development of the livestock sector by “standing on our side in the struggle to correct the wrongs or end the  hypocritical view of some of our people who are the direct beneficiaries of  pastoralist prod⁶uction.”

The KACRAN leader said the Senate President’s comment has been “a great encouragement” to them.

He said for once, his group will, like other Nigerians “start benefiting from our government’s development policies and programs and enjoy  the social services that we were excluded from benefiting for over fifty years now.”

“Truly, hearing this type of strong statement from a man of high repute like our amiable Senate President is like a big signal that God, in His infinite wisdom and mercy has answered our ardent prayers.

He said his group is optimistic about the comment about the  Senate President’s promise because they “know him as a man of principles who fulfills promises as they are made because he always stands by his words.” 

KACRAN leader said the Senate President has a track record of being a man of his word who had fulfilled many promises he made to the herders in the past. 

“It will be of great interest to hear that even this  year just as he used to do for the past seven years under the supervision of Kulen Allah executives within his Senatorial District, he vaccinated hundreds of thousands of livestock within the zone.”

The group however called on the redoubling of its commitments toward advancing the livestock businesses by “making adequate budgetary provisions in the 2023 fiscal year so that Nigeria’s pastoralists’ interest will be fully captured and judiciously implemented.”