Niger State Governor, Umaru Bago, has urged pastoralists to embrace peace, education and responsible cattle rearing practices to promote sustainable livestock production and national development.

Mr Bago, represented by his deputy, Yakubu Garba, said this at the 3rd anniversary and 2026 Pastoralists’ Day celebration in Minna on Sunday.

He commended pastoralists for their significant contributions to the growth and sustainability of Nigeria’s livestock and meat economy, describing them as important stakeholders in the state’s agricultural transformation agenda.

The governor urged pastoralists to maintain peaceful relationships with farming communities to curb farmer-herder clashes and prevent unnecessary loss of lives and property.

Mr Bago also called on them to respect constituted authorities and return to the traditional and productive practice of cattle rearing, rather than engaging in social vices capable of tarnishing the image and reputation of the Fulani community.

He called on leaders at all levels to uphold the fear of God in their dealings and ensure equal opportunities for all citizens, irrespective of their backgrounds or status.

He assured the pastoralist community that the state government had designed additional development projects and social intervention programmes, in collaboration with the Federal Government, to improve their welfare and economic opportunities.

He reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to creating an enabling environment for pastoralists to contribute meaningfully to the state’s agricultural transformation and the broader development of Nigeria’s livestock and meat economy.

Earlier, the Commissioner for Nomadic and Pastoral Affairs, Umar Rabe, appreciated some local government council chairmen for their support and cooperation with nomadic communities in their respective areas.

He commended Mr Bago for establishing the Ministry of Nomadic and Pastoral Affairs, describing the initiative as a demonstration of the administration’s commitment to the welfare, development and inclusion of pastoralists in the state.

He urged farmers and pastoralists to sustain peaceful coexistence, stressing that disagreements should be channelled through appropriate authorities for amicable resolution.

The National Chairman of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), Baba Ngelzarma, commended the organisers and described the Bago administration as one that had provided pastoralists with an atmosphere of peace, inclusion and participation in governance.

He urged parents in the pastoralist community to monitor their children closely and enrol them in schools to acquire both Western and Islamic education.

He said education would help address social vices and reduce the vulnerability of young people to banditry and kidnapping.

Mr Ngelzarma appealed to government to provide grazing reserves to reduce farmer-herder conflicts and promote sustainable livestock production.

The celebration also featured the delivery of a paper titled, “Armed Banditry and the Changing Social and Traditional Values of the Fulani Communities of Niger State: A Critical Evaluation of Ibn Khaldun’s Philosophy of the Nomadic People.”

The paper was presented by Emmanuel Umar from Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai.

(NAN)