‘Cattle thefts, not insurgency causing beef shortage’

Herders and livestock dealers who said they have fallen victims of kidnappers and armed robbers in the South-East and the South-South zones, ethnic militias in the South-West and Boko Haram insurgency in the North-East, said nothing is threatening the free movement of livestock and the availability of beef like cattle rustling.Speaking to this reporter at […]

Herders and livestock dealers who said they have fallen victims of kidnappers and armed robbers in the South-East and the South-South zones, ethnic militias in the South-West and Boko Haram insurgency in the North-East, said nothing is threatening the free movement of livestock and the availability of beef like cattle rustling.
Speaking to this reporter at Maigatari international market in Jigawa State, a renowned cattle dealer at Maiduguri cattle market in Borno State before relocating to Maigatari, Alhaji Mala Zanna, said 218 of his cows and 17 sheep and rams were stolen from his cow boys in Plateau and Benue states.
“Two of my cow boys were killed in an attack in Benue State while another was seriously wounded in Plateau. The ongoing cattle rustling in most parts of the country is targeted at our livestock and the people that rear our cows. The Boko Haram insurgency is not specifically targeted at us. In fact, livestock business in Nigeria suffers more from cattle rustling than Boko Haram insurgency.
“While it is more difficult to address the Boko Haram insurgency, cattle rustling is avoidable if government at all levels develop the political will. Certainly, livestock business has suffered serious setback in Nigeria following the ongoing cattle rustling activities,” he said.
A livestock dealer who imports cows, rams and goats from Sudan, Chad and Niger republics to some Nigerian markets, El-Haj Yousouf Moli, said the ongoing Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria has not stopped them from importing livestock to the country except that they have changed their route.
“The insurgency has not affected our business of bringing in cows to Nigeria. What happened was, before the insurgency, we were bringing cows through Ndjamena in Chad, Fotokol in Cameroun and enter Nigeria through Gamboru to the cattle market in Maiduguri. That was the route I was using but you know it is not possible to go that way now.
“At the moment, I route my cows from Sudan to Chad, divert to Niger and enter Nigeria and bring them here to Maigatari instead of Maiduguri. Chad is unavoidable because it is another major source for cows in this part of the world. The difference we are encountering now is that the route we are using to Maigatari in Jigawa State is longer than the one to Maiduguri.
“The major problem is the cattle rustling. Most people who bought cows in large numbers and distributed them to some markets within Nigeria do not buy again because of the activities of cattle rustlers. Movement of cows within Nigeria has been obstructed by the rustlers. That is affecting our business,” he said.
Madam Grace Osagie is a Benin-based butcher who buys livestock in tens from Maigatari to Benin because the prices of cows in Edo State has gone up due to the reduction in livestock supply to the southern part of the country.
“I started coming to Maigatari to buy cows and goats when the two major livestock markets in Benin City – Ahor and Eyaen – could not provide enough cows due to the activities of cattle rustlers. The cattle dealers in those markets said they lost several cows in the process of transporting them by road.
“You know, cows are better transported by road through the bush rather than carry them in trucks. The one or two days they stay in trucks make them to emaciate and it takes several days for them to recover. They are mostly attacked and their cows stolen on the way. That is affecting our business and threatening the availability of beef in the country,” she said.