An opinion piece by Ayo Akinfe on an imaginary/hypothetical Bill aimed at poverty eradication…
The Fulani Poverty Eradication Bill 2021
Every state across northern Nigeria must spend a minimum of 20% of its annual budget on education. Six mega cattle ranches will be established in Sokoto, Katsina, Jigawa, Niger, Borno and Yobe states with a plan to get every single herdsman in the country located within them.
A Nigerian Fulani Dairy Company will be created with a target of becoming the world’s leading milk producer. It will be a private-sector endeavour with state governments allowed to take out minority stakes in the venture. This company will be floated on the Lagos, London, New York, Frankfurt and Tokyo stock exchanges.
A Nigerian Leather Tannery Company will also be floated by the private sector. It will aim to become the world’s number one manufacturer of leather goods.
All these six cattle ranches will merge into the Nigerian Livestock Company. Its goal will be to produce 200m head of cattle by 2024 with the aim of making Nigeria the world’s largest beef exporter.
Each local government area in the 19 states of northern Nigeria will have at least one technical college where animal husbandry will be offered as a course. Graduates will receive a City & Guild in Animal Husbandry.
Every state in northern Nigeria must by law have a solar farm of at least 100 acres. Manufacturing plants making solar panels must be opened on adjoining industrial estates.
A Nigerian Cotton Exchange will be opened in Kaduna. Farmers will deliver their cotton to this facility where it will be purchased at the going market price. Cotton collected will be sent to textile mills mandated to generate at least $10bn a year in export earnings after meeting domestic demand.
A Nigerian Suya Company will also be formed with a mandate to making the delicacy a globally acclaimed brand kind of similar to snacks like Kit Kat, Smarties, etc.
A Fulani Livestock Bank will be floated by the 19 states of northern Nigeria to offer single-digit loans to pastoralists, herdsmen, farmers and processors. By law, this bank will not be allowed to charge interest rates in excess of 5%.
