By; MOHAMMED KAWU, Bauchi
Governor Bala Mohammed has stressed the need for collaboration between the Bauchi State Government, Animal Science Association of Nigeria (ASAN) and Nigerian Institute of Animal Science to provide solution to the farmer/herder clashes in the Northeast in particular and the country in general.
Senator Bala Mohammed while receiving the Institute and Association on Monday that were in Bauchi for their joint annual meeting, said that the state as a government and people is offering itself for partnership to arrest the problem.
“I’m challenging this association and the institute to work with us so that we can together work to provide solution to our major problem of transhumance, the herder/farmer clashes, and to be able to provide the protein needs of the country”, he said.
“Most of our people are Fulanis, they are amenable, they appreciate the practice which you also appreciate, you can stop herders’ movement from here to the East or West if we cannot provide the cattle routes”, he stated.
The governor explained that the security in Bauchi is good for any investment and all that the state need is waster and its management, revealing however that the state government has the initiative to build 100 smaller dams across the state.
“The water resource management must be address. We have the initiative to build 100 smaller dams across the state. The animal can feed on the grasses that we have, we don’t have to import grass from China, all they need is water”.
Mohammed who attributed the movements of the Fulani herdsmen from the North to Southeast and Southwest to lack of adequate water for their animals, regretting however that the North has the potentials to conserve the water, taking into cognizance the flooding people are suffering from.
“We need to have an in-depth study, and I assure you I would offer the state government and its resourcefulness, the latitude and leverage you require to be able to implement whatever knowledge you have to the benefit of this country and everybody”.
“We want unbundle Bauchi to the World and to every citizen of Nigeria irrespective of his/her background if he/she can bring development or investment in livestock and in agriculture. We want to improve our yields in both crops production and animal science to be able to raise our GDP”.
According to the governor, the state is interested in creating wealth taking into consideration that its population is increasing by the day such that Bauchi is becoming one of the biggest and most populous state in the federation, attributable to its relative peace, “People are running away from places and settling here”.
Governor Bala therefore spoke of the need for looking into the sub-regional demographics and its challenges, and use demographic increase to be an advantage, not a problem, and called on the institute and the association to partner with the state in the developmental journey it is embarking.
The Bauchi Chief Executive concluded, “Put any other consideration aside, Bauchi is ready for business. We are free from all divisions and primordial sentiments here and there, it is a level playing field, and it is ready to protect investors and attract investors irrespective of where they were coming from, especially investments from these areas where we have comparative advantage”. Uyo last meeting
Speaking earlier, the President of Nigerian Institute of Animal Science (NIAS), Prof. Baba Yusuf Abubakar said that the choice of Bauchi for the 11th ASAN – NIAS Joint Annual Meeting and 23rd ASAN Annual Conference is strategic to professionally make a mark in the state and the country, having a largest repository of knowledge in animal science that one can find.
According to the institute’s president, the conference in Bauchi is also to partner with the state so as to help develop its livestock sector to which Bauchi stands tall, be an example to other states in the federation.
Also speaking the President Animal Science Association of Nigeria (ASAN), Mr. Raymond Obiajulu Isiandinso explained Bauchi was chosen for the conference is to travel around the country, have some practical knowledge and first-hand information on areas of regional competences in large animal production of which Bauchi is greatly endowed.
Describing Senator Bala Mohammed as an agro and livestock friendly governor epitomized by his good relationship existing between him and animal husbandry and livestock staff abound in the state, President Isiandinso noted that livestock business in Bauchi, nay Northeast is well organized.
Isiandinso informed the governor that with the association are seasoned professors, the best of the best that one can get in the country who are not only professors with great academic knowledge, but have also tortured their knowledge with practical experiences.
He therefore implored the governor to leverage on these great brains and aggregate of their outputs as animal scientists to approach them should he need any of their services in future or even now in order to develop and make Bauchi a livestock friendly state and increase its GDP towards livestock based agro-industry.
The chairman of the occasion, Prof. Suleiman Bogoro had in opening remark said that Northeast has indisputably the largest livestock population of the six geo-political zones of the country, hence it is not by accident that the conference was brought to Bauchi state.
Prof. Suleiman Bogoro recalled that the NIAS President, Prof. Baba Yusuf Abubakar who members of the institute hardly convinced him by begging to lead the body is one of the most respected animal scientists across the World, who in the poultry sub-sector led the scientific team that innovated the Shika Brown Bread in ABU Zaria.
Bogoro, who explained that some members of the institute were the team that made Nigeria proud in the most celebrated competitive scientific platform across the World, appreciated Governor Bala for his respect to their professional platform, and for providing governance in Bauchi state with all the seriousness it deserved.
