THE late former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, had spoken candidly about why he believed he was dropped from President Muhammadu Buhari’s cabinet in 2019, just days before his death.
In a viral interview published by Trust TV on Saturday viewed by News Point Nigeria, the same day he passed away, Ogbeh recalled how his proposal to introduce improved grass seeds for cattle grazing was met with fierce public criticism and personal attacks, despite its potential to resolve recurring farmer–herder clashes and boost dairy production.
“When I was minister, I saw the problem of cattle rearing and I said I was going to bring improved grass seeds to plant in specific places so that the cattle don’t have to roam.
“Cows don’t like roaming; they are heavy animals with short legs. They want to stay in one place, graze, drink water and produce milk. But here, you see them going around eating plastics,” he said.
Ogbeh explained that his ministry had imported the grass into Nigeria, but what he described as Nigerians’ “negative attitude” derailed the project.
“They don’t know anything about it, they go on air, they abuse, they call you names,” he lamented.
He noted that the current Minister of Livestock Development had since admitted the core challenges were “water and grass, nothing else.”
The former minister stressed that nomadic herding was not a cultural choice but a necessity for finding pasture, pointing to an ECOWAS agreement permitting cross-border grazing.
Nigeria’s failure to establish ranches and designated grazing areas, he said, had worsened the crisis.
Ogbeh argued that well-managed ranches could increase milk production from two litres per cow daily to as much as 20 litres, cutting down on costly dairy imports.
“These are the ideas I had, which made me enemies. Strangely enough, that is why I didn’t return in 2019. I was told that I knew too much,” he disclosed.
Chief Ogbeh died peacefully on Saturday morning, according to his family, who said funeral arrangements would be announced in due course.
