- Kogi state governor, Yahaya Bello, has vowed to utilize benefits from herdsmen, in order to make his state the ‘Holland of Nigeria’
- He stated that the state govt would soon ask herdsmen to bring their cows into Kogi and rent land to them to enable them breed livestock that would produce high quality milk, meat etc
- Bello also restated his determination to support President Buhari in implementing his manifestos in the area of agriculture
Gov Yahaya Bello of Kogi has pledged to make the state be the ‘Holland of Nigeria’ in terms of dairy milk production and other livestock products for other states to patronize, NAN reports.
NAIJ.com gathers that Bello made the promise at the Kogi state Agriculture Summit, tagged: “Moving Agriculture To The Next Level”, on Friday, January 26, in Lokoja, as part of activities to mark his two years in office.
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“In Holland, everyone knows that Holland produce more than a quarter of dairy milk and meats for Europe and America.
“Kogi will be the Holland of Nigeria where every other state in Nigeria will come and buy milk and other dairy products.
“They will also buy meat, hides and skin, bones, horns and even cow faeces for manure, which will translate into cash for our people.
“We are looking for opportunities to make money for our people.
“If you have a parcel of land that you are not using, what will happen is that the pastoralists will come and you rent it to them for money.
“Our youths and women will learn how to breed and keep these cows as well.
“And what will happen is that we shall have cross breed cows that will produce more milk and high quality meats where other states can come and buy,” Bello said.
The governor added that the state government was looking for opportunities and how to utilise them.
He continued: “They said I am friend to Fulani herdsmen and hate farmers, but they are all falsehood on the pages of newspapers and television.
“We are telling the people that we are tolerant in Kogi, we love our neighbours and seizing and maximising the best of every opportunity.
“Very soon we will tell our Fulani brothers not to take their cows across border to sell again.
“We will ask them to drop their cows in Kogi, and we will rent your land to them to stay.
“A land where people can come and buy, pay tax to government and they will settle the land owners.
“That your land that is there and not generating anything will become a hot cake.
“These are the various benefits we will derive from our coexistence with Fulani herdsmen.
“This is the way we are going to go; in the next six months we shall begin to see the economy of Kogi transforming very rapidly.
“The federal government and international agencies are bringing money, grants to Kogi to support livestock production, including keeping these cows in form of ranches in one particular area with facilities called ‘cattle colonies'”.
The governor restated his determination to support President Muhammadu Buhari in implementing his manifestos as far as revolutionizing agriculture was concerned.
In his words: “We are empowering our youths to ensure that they have improved well being.
“The era of free money is gone. It is time for us to bend down and work to make ourselves rich by returning back to agriculture.
“We must return back to farm. Let us key into the various programmes of this government, especially in agriculture.
“All that is required is your interest and the land.
“The government is supporting the people and adding value through cottage industries, so that farm produce can be sold with adequate gain.
“You own your land, we shall give you funds, farm implements and create the market for you, what else are you waiting for?
“Why can’t we tolerate our Fulani brothers and sisters who have lived with us for a very long time? And you want them to leave now to go where?
“We have to be tolerant, we have to tolerate one another. It is out of tolerance that we gathered here today.
“We develop the culture of tolerance by accommodating one another.
“Hold on to your land, we will teach you how to use it judiciously to make huge money in the state; our land is our oil wells that can never dry.”
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Recall that NAIJ.com previously reported that Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi insisted that he would not be part of any attempt to restrict the movement of Fulani herdsmen in the state.
The Kogi governor made this known during an emergency state security stakeholders’ meeting attended by traditional rulers, Fulani settlers, political administration and security personnel over incessant clashes between Fulani herdsmen and farmers.
Bello said the herdsmen were welcomed in his state and kicked against laws enacted in Taraba and Benue states restricting their movement.
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Source: Naija.ng