Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has described open grazing and the presence of cattle on roads and developed areas within Abuja as an “issue of national security”, calling for practical and honest conversations on how to tackle the issue.
Wike made the remarks during a live media chat on Monday, June 1, while responding to concerns about cows roaming parts of the Federal Capital Territory.
“You talked about cows. That is an issue of national security. We must face reality,” he said.
The minister argued that efforts to address open grazing are often complicated by ethnic and religious sentiments, making decisive action difficult.
“When you see people try to take action on certain things, some people come out with one kind of religion or ethnicity. Let the truth be told,” he added.
Wike disclosed that one of the key responses being pursued by the Federal Government is ranching, which he said is intended to gradually remove livestock from urban centres and end the sight of cows roaming within the city.
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“The President has said, ‘Look, let’s do ranching and see how we can take these cows out of the city.’ It is an eyesore. It is not fair, it is not good.
“We have developed countries where they have cows; you hardly can see them. Go to Saudi, you can’t see the cows there,” the minister said.
He praised the Minister of Livestock Development for ongoing engagements with Miyetti Allah and other stakeholders aimed at addressing the challenge of open grazing.
Despite ongoing efforts, Wike admitted that the problem persists and accepted responsibility for the continued presence of cattle in Abuja.
“I apologise for that and take responsibility for that; up till now there are cows. But you should also face the reality.
“It is not easy as you are saying it here. You know the problem in this country, and you must come out to say this is the problem, we must tackle this problem, and we must give you support,” the minister said.