His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, defied all odds when he made his intentions clear that the country should have a full pledged Ministry of Livestock, the wailing wailers started what they knows best; from intimidations, threats, blackmailing, smear campaigns, sponsored propaganda, backstabbing and other forms of negative sponsored articles in both national and international media outlets against the president’s mission!
But, knowing the pedigree and antecedents of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as fearless, unrelenting, unstoppable and his uncompromising stand on national development with Nigeria’s patriotism deeply enshrined in his inner heart, the Nigerian leader, His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, went ahead to inaugurate the Renewed Hope Livestock Implementation Committee, and sequel to the recommendation of the Presidential panel on reform of Livestock Industry set up to provide long term solution to constant clashes between farmers and headers in September, 2023. The far reaching recommendation in their report led the President to constitute and inaugurated the Presidential Committee on the Implementation of Livestock Reforms, where he said: “Traditional livestock system must be reformed to add value to Nigeria’s social economic growth and development. With all measures that is available to us, I don’t want us to turn this environment to another talk opportunity, I just want to inaugurate this committee to ensure that I am ready. The solution is here and we must run with it.”
The former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega as the Co-Chair of the Committee, while the President himself assumed the Chairmanship of the Committee!
After undergone rigorous processes with far reaching recommendation, His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, announced the establishment of Federal Ministry of Livestock Development on 9th July, 2024, and appointed a seasoned civil servant, Dr. Chinyere Ijeoma Akujobi as the pioneer permanent secretary of the newly created ministry to oversee its progressive affairs, puts things in motion, assemble dedicated and professional staffs, and she also played a crucial role in shaping the ministry’s objectives, and policies before the coming of a full pledged minister!
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, went in search of a rightful person; a seasoned administrator with vast wealth of experience in governance with political will to drive the vision of the newly created ministry, a technocrat with unblemished record of service, an expert in the fields of animal husbandry and with exceptional negotiation skills, knowledgeable in pastoralists and farmers natural behaviours, a person with immense credibility, national and international exposure, selfless, honesty, dignity, trustworthy, and with exemplary leadership qualities, and an unshakable patriot!
Though difficult but not impossible to find the rightful person with combination of the above mentioned characteristics. After rigorous searches and widest dragnet of deep consultations as well as recommendations from patriotic Nigerians and relevant stakeholders, the search led to a remote community in Maiha Local Government Area of Adamawa State, and it falls on Alhaji Idi Mukhtar Maiha, a practicing livestock farmer and one time a pastoralist himself, who happens to be the owner cum Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Zaidi Farms Limited, located in Kaduna State, which is a well integrated enterprise with state-of-the-art farming equipments and applies world-class best practices in Animal Husbandry, as well as producing different varieties of farm produce/food items, also serve as Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the foremost Kaduna Refining and Petrochemicals Company (KRPC) before his eventual retirement from active federal government civil service. All ends well in October 2024, as His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, announced the name of Idi Mukhtar Maiha from native Maiha Local Government Area of Adamawa State as the Minister of the newly created Federal Ministry of Livestock Development!
The rest is now history, Alhaji Idi Mukhtar Maiha is now the meritorious Honourable Minister of Livestock Development and Member of the Federal Executive Council (FEC), exuding competence, commitment, care, diligence, professionalism and dedicated to work ethics, unrelenting towards driving the core mandates of this all-important ministry in Formulation, implementation, and monitoring of livestock development and animal health policies and programs.
Minister Idi Mukhtar Maiha have also balance his technocratic expertise with political responsibilities. Promised Nigerians he will not failed them while driving the renewed hope agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on sustainable livestock development, as failure is only for the weak. He reaffirmed his commitments to take the Nigeria’s livestock sector to greater heights while revitalizing the ailing livestock industry to bounce back to action thereby creating job opportunities, so equally outlined strategic priorities for the Ministry, including modernising Nigeria’s 417 grazing reserves with essential infrastructure such as water, schools, clinics, markets, and abattoirs, also to see the success of re-grazing of those areas, getting all the necessary inputs in terms of rangeland, pasture, water, the infrastructure for the comfort of the animals and the herders’ families, thereby bring an ends to incessant menace of farmer-herder’s clashes.
The livestock development minister, Idi Mukhtar Maiha set a worthy example while on official visit and on-the-spot assessment to Adamawa State, a state with enormous potentials, blessed with 32 gazetted grazing reserves, with the foremost Gongoshi Grazing Reserve Located in Mayo-Belwa with total land area of 6,700 Hectares and with capacity to accommodate hundreds of thousands of herds of cows and other animals. In some of his remarks, the Minister of Livestock Development, Alhaji Idi Mukhtar Maiha expressed the Federal Government’s dedication to transforming the sector into a globally competitive and sustainable industry, reiterates President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s vision of modernising livestock management to create jobs, drive economic growth, and ensure food security. Idi Mukhtar Maiha also disclosed plans to improve breed performance, enhance veterinary services, and adopt advanced technology like cattle tagging and traceability systems to tackle challenges such as cattle rustling and ownership identifications.
Indeed, a true son of the soil from native Maiha in Adamawa State, Alhaji Idi Mukhtar Maiha, the pioneer Honourable Minister of Livestock Development and Member of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) is not only a blessing to Jalingo-Maiha or Adamawa State, but Nigeria and the world at large. May Almighty Allah’s guidance and protection continues to be with him while discharging his national duties with dedications, commitment, dignity, diligence, selflessness, resilience, honesty, professionalism and patriotism.
Once again, to the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, continue counting on the foremost organization; Honourable Mukhtar Idi Maiha for Good Governance and Livestock Development, HMI-4-GGLD, under stewardship of Honourable Lawan Sadiq Abubakar’s unflinching support and loyalty as you carries the collective destiny of Nigerians on your shoulders, may Allah’s guidance and protections continue to be with you while working assiduously implementing the Renewed Hope Agenda in your people-oriented administration for the betterment of Nigeria, Nigerians and global community at large.
