Federal Ministry of Livestock Development: the shape of things to come- Osuagwu.


A renounced Corrosion Specialist, Engineer, Nze Osuagwu, has predicted what will be the outcome of the newly established Federal Ministry of Livestock Development, by the present government of President Bola Tinubu.

Nze Osuagwu while addressing newsmen in Onitsha, warned Nigerians to reject the creation of Federal Ministry of Livestock Development, saying that Nigeria already has Federal Ministry of Agriculture under which livestock development is an integral part, and therefore, nothing is special about Livestock Development Ministry existing as a separate ministry.

According to Osuagwu, who is an Ofor title holder, “the convergent point is,if you go to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, under fourth schedule, Section 4 Sub section 2a and 2 b, you will see where you have development of agriculture well pronounced as the core duty of the council areas, it is functions of the local government council, you will equally see development of Agriculture and Natural Resources other than exploitation of minerals or materials, the constitution referred it there as minerals.”

He said that Federal Ministry of Livestock Development was created just to protect the interest of a particular ethnic group that has been threatening that if attention is not given to them through creation of such Ministry, the incumbent president may not get second tenure.

Speaking on the relationship between the establishment of the Federal Ministry of Livestock Development and the Local Government autonomy recently granted the council areas in Nigeria, he said, “with the establishment of the ministry and granting of the council areas autonomy by Supreme Court, the Federal Government will now leave the states and focus the activities of the new Ministry to the council areas, where it can easily convinced, with little or nothing to make them acquire land for the activities of the new Ministry that will be made very viable and visible.

“Watch it, people will happy that the Federal government want to encourage agriculture with the establishment of the ministry, the convergent point there is, as soon as the Federal Ministry of Livestock Development finally takes roots, the strength of the Ministry will be well pronounced at the Local Government levels and the next step will be funding it very well for all activities that will be required in order to effectively grab the land and cede it to the people they have in mind to assuage.”

“The establishment of the new Ministry is a smoke screen to the real thing the Federal Government will use it and the local government autonomy to achieve, am urging Nigerians to reject it whole and entire or be vigilant with what the government wants to use it to achieve against the people at the local government levels in Nigeria.

"Everybody should reject the creation of Federal Ministry of Livestock Development. Already we have Federal Ministry of Agriculture, therefore, there is nothing special about livestock development. Under the law that established Federal Ministry of Agriculture, livestock development is part of it. So the basis for the establishment of Livestock Development Ministry is just to protect the interest of a particular ethnic group that has been clamouring for the establishment of such Ministry.

"They have openly been threatening Mr. President and telling him that if he did not establish the Ministry of Livestock Development, that he should forget about 2027, and greedy politicians would not want to hear anybody telling them that, so they quickly established the Ministry in order to assuage them, grab the land for the activities of the ministry through the council areas, the very weak and highly gullible of the three levels of government, the land they will subsequently cede to them for their cattle breeding and settlement.

"So Nigerians should resist the creation of Federal Ministry of Livestock Development. If Nigerians fail to resist it, Nigerians should make anybody that comes for their votes for the Chairmanship and Councillorship of the Local Governments to take an oath or write an undertaken that they will not attempt in any guise and form, cede the land in the council area to the new Ministry for its activities.

“My fear is that those boys who are going to be the council area Chairmen and Councillors are highly gullible, any little or few million naira dangled before them will make them stop thinking. They are ready to sell the entire council area to Federal government with little inducement, and the lands subsequently ceded to the ethnic group.

“Federal Ministry of Livestock Development will eventually be a monster that is being created now to hunt the people in future. Nigerians must resist its creation now. My candid advise to Nigerians is that they should reject and resist the establishment of the Federal Ministry of Livestock Development, is not needed in Nigeria, it is not going to help anybody in Nigeria, the interest of those behind its establishment is to grab land and give to the ethnic group that have been clamoring for such establishments. it is a time bomb to Nigerians.

“My second advise is while Nigerians should make sure the concept of Livestock Development Ministry, does not see the light of day, they should make sure that the would be Chairmen and Counsellors they are electing are highly monitored and scrutinized and any attempt by them to fulfill the aspirations of the Federal government through land ceding to any ethnic group under any guise should be vehemently rejected.

“South East is very strategic in this agenda of grabbing and ceding land to the particular ethnic group. South East Governor must be made to understand that such move will not be tolerated in the zone, the zone has had enough of killings and sacking of communities by violent cattle herders. As I speak with you today, one third of Ebonyi State have been taken over by this group through the past administration in that state.

Engineer Osuagwu who has consulted for Fortune 50 to 100 companies all over the world, urged Nigerians to reject the newly created Ministry because the motivates behind its establishment are not clear and cannot serve any good purpose to the majority of Nigerians, but rather to serve a particular ethnic group in Nigeria.

“The Federal Ministry of Livestock Development is another way of introducing Ruga which Nigerians have rejected, and it is meant to secure land for this particular ethnic group across Nigeria. Local government autonomy is the carrot used to deceive Nigerians and as soon as that was got through the Supreme Court judgement, they created the Ministry of Livestock Development which was one of the attempts made by former government in Nigeria to grab land in the country which Nigerians rejected.