Extend COVID-19 Palliatives To Us – Miyetti Allah To FG

The Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) has beckoned on the three tiers of government to extend palliatives to them to help reduce the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The appeal was made by Alhaji Othman Ngelzarma, the National Secretary of the association, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday, August 13, 2020.

He frowned at the negligence of the pastoralists’ community for decades by the government and stated that they had never benefited from the government in the event of an outbreak.

Speaking further, he mentioned that they are the worst affected in terms of societal vices and the current pandemic, yet they had not been extended a helping hand by the current administration.

His words:

I appeal to the government to find ways of extending the palliative to reach the pastoralist community in the country which has been their plight. They have been neglected for decades; they have never enjoyed anything from the government till date.

Even with this pandemic, nothing much is done to them to cushion the effect on pastoralists in the country. None of the palliatives designed has reached an average pastoralist community living within the communities in this country.

All these news about ranching, Ruga, colony and whatsoever is just on paper, till date we have not seen a pilot plan put in place to address the plight of the pastoralists being the worst affected by all the vices taking place today in the country.

Is it insurgency, cattle rustling, kidnapping, and banditry? Of all these vices happening in the country the pastoralists, remain the worst affected.

A lot of families were rendered poor, lost their financial fortune, lives, loved ones, and portion due to societal vices. It has been on the news daily that bandits have ransacked a community wrestled and went away with 100,000 of cattle, so, who are the sole owners of those cattle they remain the pastoralists.”