The Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum (SMBLF) has rejected the Federal Government's proposed pilot scheme under the New National Livestock Policy, warning it could lead to the permanent takeover of community lands by nomadic Fulani pastoralists. The group described the plan as "spurious" and accused the government of targeting Nasarawa, Plateau, Benue, Southern Kaduna, Taraba and the Federal Capital Territory for the pilot, despite the availability of unused land in the far North. SMBLF leaders, including Oba Oladipo Olaitan, Bitrus Pogu, John Azuta-Mbata and Godknows Igali, said the policy was being pushed in an "opaque, coercive and discriminatory" manner that exclusively benefits Fulani herdsmen. They stressed they are not against ranching or modern livestock development but oppose the use of the Land Use Act of 1978 to justify compulsory land acquisition, stating the law does not permit arbitrary land grabbing and recognises customary occupancy rights. The forum alleged the real aim of the policy is to create permanent settlement zones for nomadic pastoralists, a move they linked to years of violent clashes and displacement in the Middle Belt and Southern Nigeria. SMBLF claimed some pastoralists involved in these conflicts are not Nigerian citizens and urged the Federal Government to address citizenship and security issues before allocating ancestral lands. The group warned the pilot could expand to Southern states if resisted and affirmed communities would not consent to land takeover without legal safeguards.
The SMBLF's rejection highlights a deep distrust in how the livestock policy is being rolled out, particularly the concentration of pilot sites in the Middle Belt despite alternative lands in the North. This raises questions about whose interests the policy truly serves and whether communities will be forced to bear the cost of a programme they did not design.
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