Climate, violence force cattle into Nigeria's crowded cities

DW (English)

Nigeria is home to around 20 million cows, most of which are owned by nomadic Fulani herders. But urban development, climate change and violence in rural areas are making it increasingly difficult for them to find enough grazing land.

Transcript

00:00Herds of cows roaming the streets may be a familiar sight in pastoralist areas of Africa,

00:07but not in cities like here in Abuja.

00:10The search for green grass in suburbia is frustrating for everyone.

00:15Currently it's easier to get around on foot than in a car.

00:21Look over here, all these cows crossing the road, blocking the traffic, and it seems like

00:27no one is taking the initiative to bring them to a better place.

00:34Herders are grazing their cattle in urban areas because they were driven out of their

00:38traditional nomadic pasture.

00:40Trapped between climate change and urbanization, herdsman Alamin Usman says bandits are active

00:46in rural areas.

00:49In the bush there's bandits, so they'll collect our cow, sometimes they are kidnappers.

00:55So that is why we have no chance to go that side because of insecurity.

01:02Finding grazing and water for his animals is a daily struggle for herdsmen like Alamin.

01:07He walks for hours, often along busy highways, to the annoyance of other road users.

01:15I'm not happy because I've been blown on since to come out.

01:19I think the government should do something about it.

01:22The cows are not supposed to be crossing the road, they should be in a rut or something.

01:26The government wants the cows here, in one of four grazing reserves outside Abuja.

01:32But the head of Nigeria's Cattle Breeders Association says the plan is not working for

01:37the traditionally nomadic Fulani herders.

01:41What is missing are these basic things, water and pasture.

01:46This is what an average pastoralist requires.

01:50Kidnappery and kidnappings are major problems.

01:53We can only enter the reserve with armed guards.

01:57It's not safe for herders or their herds.

02:01It has been happening since 2014.

02:03Today we are talking of losing our pastoralists, losing about 4 million cows as a result of

02:10cattle wrestling and due to activities of kidnappers, farmer-herder conflict.

02:15The insecurity also made it impossible for the pastoralists to stay.

02:21The Fulani herders say the government has failed.

02:24They want to harness the potential of their herds.

02:28For Alamin, action cannot come soon enough.

02:31His cows are weak and hungry.

02:35Sometimes because of no food, no grasses, they are chopping nylon or poison.

02:41Sometimes it's killing them, cows are dying.

02:45Ten years a day, the small ones die.

02:49His remaining cows only produce a litre of milk each day.

02:53That's not enough to ensure his family's survival.

02:58This is my business, this is what I know, so it makes me worry.

03:06So he's begun selling some of his animals.

03:08The profit ensures that his family can eat again, but in the long run it's a move that

03:14will destroy his livelihood.

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