When Fr. Hyacinth Alia, the Executive Governor of Benue State, appointed Dr Aondoakaa Asambe, a Kwande-born official, as Director-General of the Bureau of Livestock Development and Animal Transboundary Disease Control, I remember discussing with him the need for a comprehensive livestock census in the state.
Our discussion centred on livestock ownership and the importance of identifying animals. On a lighter note, I told him that since Nigeria had repeatedly struggled to conduct a credible human population census, perhaps Benue could lead the way with a livestock census.
Back in our agricultural studies, particularly animal husbandry, we were taught the importance of livestock identification. Animals can be identified through tags, branding and other markings, making it possible for farmers to know their own livestock. A comprehensive livestock census would therefore establish who owns what animals, the types and numbers of livestock they own and, where necessary, where those animals are kept.
The importance of this goes beyond statistics. Even without ranches, if livestock stray into farms and destroy crops, an effective identification system would make it easier to trace the animals to their owners. This would help resolve disputes arising from crop destruction. There are situations where livestock owners simply deny responsibility because there is no reliable means of establishing which herd destroyed a farmer’s crops. Proper livestock identification would make such denials much more difficult. It could also create an economic opportunity for businesses involved in producing and supplying identification tags.
We must also understand that crop production and animal husbandry cannot simply be allowed to take place indiscriminately on the same piece of land. Crops constitute feed for animals, while livestock can destroy crops when they stray into cultivated farms. That is why it is important to know who owns which animals and to hold owners accountable for the conduct of their livestock. Ownership must come with responsibility.
Another uncomfortable dimension to this conversation is ownership. Many people who own large herds are not poor herders. They include influential and wealthy members of society—retired military officers, senior politicians, businessmen and other powerful individuals. Some have extensive connections within government and the security establishment and considerable influence in their communities. Yet their livestock are often left to roam.
Look around our communities and ask who owns some of the large herds. In Makurdi, for instance, I recall that the late Colonel J. Torkura was reputed to have one of the largest cattle holdings in the early 2000s. Today, prominent names associated with cattle ownership include Chief Samuel Ortom, Rep. Dickson Tarkighir, and Senator George Akume. In Ihugh, Senator Jack Gyado is known to have cattle. I also knew of cattle owned by Senator Iyorchia Ayu.
These examples are important because they challenge the convenient assumption that livestock ownership is exclusively the business of poor pastoralists or foreigners. The person physically tending a herd is not necessarily the person who owns it.
The indigenous West African Dwarf cattle, popularly known as Bua Tiv, kept by many people in our villages, are generally not associated with farm destruction. The bigger concern is managing large herds that move from one place to another. If there is opposition to open grazing, then perhaps we should look beyond the people physically tending the cattle and ask who actually owns the herds.
The same question should be asked about the weapons herdsmen carry. Anyone familiar with the cost and sophistication of an AK-47 rifle would understand that the ordinary person tending cattle in the field is unlikely to be the person financing such weapons. The same principle applies to poor crop farmers. Where armed protection is deployed around cattle, attention should also be directed towards identifying those with the financial capacity to own large herds and fund their protection.
It is regrettable that some external cattle owners have collaborators within the state who help perpetuate killings and the displacement of local populations in the name of grazing. These collaborators go beyond villagers who, driven by poverty, inducement or misplaced loyalty, may participate in acts that cause havoc.
More troubling is the fact that some of our own people who own cattle have become vocal opponents of ranching whenever the issue comes up. They sometimes present their opposition as a defence against Fulani occupation, but the question must be asked: Whose interests are they really protecting?
If they own cattle, why should they oppose a system that requires them to keep those animals in properly managed ranches? The answer may be uncomfortable. Ranching comes with costs—land, water, feed, veterinary care, fencing and other forms of management. Open grazing, on the other hand, allows owners to move animals across communities at relatively little cost to themselves, while farmers and local communities bear the consequences.
This is why the livestock census debate matters, particularly as we discuss the future of livestock production in Benue. If ranching is being resisted, then the livestock census should at least be embraced. We cannot continue to operate on assumptions and guesswork about who owns what, where the animals are and who should be held responsible when they cause damage.
A credible livestock census, supported by proper identification and registration of animals, would provide a foundation for accountability. It would help distinguish livestock owners from the people employed to tend their animals, protect farmers whose crops are destroyed and make it easier for security agencies to trace ownership when livestock become connected to criminal activities or conflicts.
Most importantly, it would bring the real owners of large herds into the conversation. Rather than focusing solely on the poor man seen moving cattle from one location to another, we should be asking: Who owns these animals? How many does he own? Where are they kept? Who pays for their movement and protection? And who bears responsibility when they cause damage?
If we are not ready for ranches, then let us at least know the number of livestock in Benue, who owns them and where they are.
The time for a livestock population census is now.
