Oby Ezekwesili Deconstructs NLTP: Says The Plan Over Simplifies Bloodbath

Billy

The candidate of the Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN) in the 2019 presidential, Obiageli Ezekwesili, popularity known as Oby Ezekwesili, has traunced the National Livestock Transformation Plan (Plan) of president Muhammadu Buhari as a that is bereft of context and legitimacy from the Nigerian people as it oversimplifies ongoing bloodbath in the country.

Oby said the context within and for which the NLTP was conceived and proposed as a solution was bleeding red with the blood of innocent Nigerian lives. "Blood on the Dance floor, right!" My take not hers.

Obi made these scathing critique in a couple of tweets via her Twitter handle with a tweet thread tagged #PublicPolicy201 She said, "My mantra as a Policy enthusiast is, “To get the right answer, one must ask the right question”.

Governments do well when they think through what problem any of their proposed Policy seeks to solve. Ask the right Question if you want to get the right answer(s).

"New Year of 2018 was ushered in with bloodbath in Benue. Similar occurrences in Taraba, Kaduna, etc awoke citizens to the new height& vicious manifestation of an old problem.

By March of 2018 when I tweeted the below; everyone was confounded by the Nigeria problem. "The Problem was smack in the face of everyone. Herdsmen and Farmers were having very bloody conflicts which were resulting in plenty killings of farmers. VP @ProfOsinbajo was acting as President and knew there was Problem.

This was how @Papadonkee put it in his insightful thread. "This was the beginning of the National Livestock Transformation Plan— NLTP. It’s policy document states that it “aims to transform the livestock production system in Nigeria along market oriented value chain while ensuring an atmosphere of peace and justice”.

"In effect, the VP and his Governor -colleagues of the National Economic Council — NCE worked on a broader Policy to address the twin Problems they identified as:
1. Restore Peace.
2. Enable systemic transformation of Livestock management.

"Those 2 Problems that the NLTP was designed to Solve—Restore Peace & Raise Productivity of Livestock—translated into 6 pillars: -

Strategic communications;
- Criminal justice/security; - Economic investment;
-Humanitarian;
-Conflict stabilization
And coexistence; cross-cutting themes."

She explained that, "One could applaud the NLTP’s 6-pillars framework approach for being holistic; i.e. seeking to address the short (restore peace) to longer (productivity) term goals in Livestock Management.

That’s until we understand how much Context and Legitimacy matter in Policy Design.

How? "Remember what triggered the effort of the VP and culminated in NLTP? It was a problem graver than the economic need for a systemic transformation of Nigeria’s Livestock sector which accounts for some 3.8% of GDP.

It was the invasion of communities by killer terrorist-herdsmen! "The Context within and for which the NLTP was proposed as a Solution was bleeding red. Blood of the innocent flowed, alarming the public. We saw escalating killings of mass number of citizens in some communities & takeover of their lands by invaders.

It was not a Livestock Problem." The policy expert submits that, "Solving our Livestock Problem is one thing. Solving the Problem of daily wasting of the lives of our Citizens is an entirely different level of responsibility for which an NLTP coordinated between the VPs Office and Ministry of Agric is nothing short of wrong Policy Response. "It is still not a Livestock Problem.

The NLTP makes the mistake of oversimplifying what happened and has continued in some of our communities that have borne the brunt of the invasion of killers. Killers that are no way close to the cane-wielding Fulani Herdsmen of the past.

"Hence whenever the FG or even their State Governments speak of “Ranching”, Settlement, RUGA, NLTP, what some communities hear is no longer “an alternative Livestock Management System”.

What traumatized distrusting communities hear is, “Give up your Land to host your Killers”. "If therefore there has been feverish resistance to words like “Ranching, Settlement, RUGA, NLTP “ from some communities in our countries, the FG and its Policymakers must understand that it is because people want a Life and not Livestock Problem solved.

"Let me import some of my old tweets from the archives to evidence the stridency with which the activities of killer herdsmen was received by the Nigerian public. "Nigerians were numbed over time as the killings became almost normalized. It is this Context that resists NLTP/RUGA.

"My greatest fear for the nation at the abysmal failure of our FG to protect the communities vulnerable to attacks by killer-herdsmen; is acute erosion of Trust and loss of Legitimacy by Governments at all levels. "No Policy can ever withstand deep public distrust.

"What confidence-building action was ever taken by the FG to assuage communities still reeling in pain and feeling credibly vulnerable as a result of the killer-herdsmen rampage. "Has Nigerian President not acted strangely impervious to the legitimate concerns of some of his citizens?

"Those who rose in unison across the country are not interested in a Policy that was designed with the intention of improving productivity of Livestock while the bigger issue of the weakness of the Nigerian-State to guarantee Equality of Right to Life to them is left doubtful.

"It was good Nigerian President suspended “Ranching, Settlement, RUGA and such like”. "Those who tried to muscle in ideas that lack sensitivity to Context and Legitimacy must bow their heads in deep reflection.

"Their usual obsession for Transactions almost destabilized Nigeria. "I started my #PublicPolicy201 thread with this: My mantra as a Policy enthusiast is this: “Ask the right Question if you want to get the right answer(s).” “Has the Nigerian President asked himself why some of his citizens believe he “values cows more than them?

"If President Buhari accepted the discomfort of the correct answer to his “Question to Self”, he would do something bold to save his country and people:

"Cancel RUGA swiftly convene all zones of Nigeria to an honest discussion on: “The State of Our Union”. "I respect the work that went into articulating the NLTP—National Livestock Transformation Plan.

It has some sound market-tested ideas to enhance Livestock productivity. "But right now, we must first "Save Our Union" by placing the Sanctity of Every Nigerian Life above all else.

"My four-part #PublicPolicy201 thread on the infighting between RUGA and NLTP at the Presidency @AsoRock is now done. 🌹🙏🏾"

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