The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa, on Wednesday, advocated the need for cattle ranching as part of measures to address the perennial conflicts between herders and farmers.
He stated this while addressing a press conference in Abuja ahead of the maiden African Chiefs of Defence Staff Summit aimed at strengthening continental security collaboration to address emerging threats.
Musa insisted that cattle ranching would address some of the security challenges bedevilling the African continent.
“I want us as Nigerians to look at this so that we can deal with this issue, because one of the big security challenges we’re having is this issue of farmers and herders,” Musa said.
“Because once they [cattle] move around, they spend energy. They are smaller, and they don’t produce so much milk for you to do for them.
“Why don’t you do that? Why don’t you ranch them? You get the best out of them. So it’s a win-win for all of us,” he stated.
Musa said the killing of animals should be discouraged, adding that such animals could be arrested for better compensation for the damage done to their crops.
He emphasised that ranching has a lot of advantages for the owner of animals, hence it should be something that should be embraced without hindrances.
The CDS condemned insinuation in some quarters that he was advocating for ranching, and therefore, asking the government to take people’s land.
He added, “Some people felt that we are encouraging the government to buy farms and ranching is a business.
“I think anybody who is interested in ranching should also do that. Again, if state governments are interested in their regions, they should do that.
“They can also show model ranch farms for people to do.
“But what we’re saying is that for us to address this security situation, we must stop animals from going into farms.
“We must stop killing animals. Traditionally, what we have done before is, if an animal strays into a farm, we arrest it, then the owner comes and pays a fine, and they take it back. If we do that, we will have peace.
“But it is important that we get areas where we can keep these animals. They are better off when they are kept on a ranch.
“If you don’t want to call it ranching, call it whatever it is, but provide an area where they don’t need to move around.”
He identified critical threats confronting Africa, including terrorism from Boko Haram, Al-Shabaab, and ISIS affiliates, rising banditry and kidnappings, piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, and emerging cyberattacks on defence systems.
The defence chief noted that the event, scheduled for August 25 to 27, 2025, will provide African nations with a platform to sit down, look at their challenges, and proffer solutions as African brothers and sisters.
