By Emeka Amaefula
FG DROPS THE HAMMER: OPEN GRAZING NOW ILLEGAL NATIONWIDE
The sun hung high over Yola when a moment long anticipated in Nigeria’s national discourse finally arrived. Delegates, policymakers, traditional rulers, and livestock experts gathered for the inaugural National Council on Livestock Development, unaware that they were about to witness a declaration that would shift the country’s agricultural direction. Standing before the assembly, the Minister of Livestock Development, Mallam Idi Mukhtar Maiha, announced that the Federal Government had officially abolished open grazing of cattle across Nigeria with immediate effect.
Maiha’s words carried the weight of decades of conflict. For years, open grazing had been at the centre of some of Nigeria’s most devastating communal clashes, triggering tension between herders and farmers, leading to displacement, property destruction, and countless deaths. The Minister described the practice as an outdated system that had inflicted “unnecessary crises and needless loss of lives,” insisting that the nation could not continue on a path that undermined stability and agricultural progress. He declared that open grazing is now considered a punishable offence under Federal Government policy and affirmed that Nigeria must embrace ranching and other modern livestock systems practiced around the world.
Yet behind this bold proclamation lies a more complex reality. Although the Federal Government has clearly announced the abolition of open grazing as a national policy, no fully enacted or gazetted federal law criminalising open grazing nationwide has been identified. A thorough review of National Assembly proceedings, available bill records, ministry publications, and Federal Government gazette listings reveals that while there is strong executive direction, there is no completed Act signed into law that imposes uniform nationwide penalties for open grazing. What exists is a powerful policy declaration supported by ongoing ministerial actions and national consultations.
To demonstrate its commitment, the Federal Government has begun rehabilitating key grazing reserves, including major sites in Abuja, converting them into modern ranch clusters equipped with water systems, pasture development, veterinary support, and security structures. Plans for model ranches across the geopolitical zones are also underway, intended to help herders transition to settled livestock production. The establishment of the National Livestock Council and the National Livestock Geo-Analytics System reflects a push toward modern traceability, planning, and conflict prevention, signalling a long-term plan to reshape the sector.
On the legislative front, momentum is building but still incomplete. A bill aimed at regulating ranching and officially banning open grazing passed second reading in the Senate in 2024, but it has not advanced through the full cycle of readings, concurrence, presidential assent, and gazetting. Meanwhile, several states—particularly in the South—already enforce their own anti-open-grazing laws, which remain legally binding within their jurisdictions, though they do not constitute a uniform nationwide framework.
Still, the significance of the Federal Government’s announcement cannot be understated. For the first time, Nigeria is aligning its political will, economic strategy, and security concerns toward a unified shift in livestock management. Maiha emphasized that the country must move toward methods that support peace and agricultural profitability. He argued that modern ranching could unlock billions in economic value, create jobs, boost beef and dairy production, and strengthen allied industries such as leather, hides, and animal-based bio-products.
As participants filed out of the Yola conference hall, the sense of a turning point was unmistakable. Nigeria may still await the legislative instrument that fully codifies the abolition of open grazing, but the direction is clear. The Federal Government has drawn a bold line, signalling an end to a practice long associated with conflict and inefficiency. How rapidly this policy transforms into law and how effectively it is implemented will determine the pace and success of Nigeria’s transition into a modern, stable livestock economy.
What is certain is that this moment will be remembered as a decisive step toward a future defined by ranching, reform, and the promise of rural peace.
————–Emeka Amaefula —–+234(0)8111813069—-
