The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has strongly criticised President Bola Tinubu’s proposal to establish cattle ranches in Abuja—the ancestral land of the Gbagi people—and across other parts of Nigeria, describing the move as a repackaged version of the controversial RUGA initiative and a veiled land-grabbing agenda disguised as policy.
In a press statement issued on Tuesday, IPOB spokesperson Emma Powerful condemned the proposal, stating that it reflects misplaced priorities by the Federal Government in the 21st century, where innovation, education, and national security should take precedence over what he described as “cow colonies.”
Powerful warned that what may appear as a push for cattle grazing today has historically resulted in the marginalisation and eventual displacement of indigenous communities.
“What started as a call for grazing centuries ago ended with proud territories being overtaken, indigenous owners turned into strangers, and alien emirates rising in their place. Abuja is now on that dangerous path if this madness isn’t stopped,” the statement read.
The group accused President Tinubu of ignoring global urban standards, questioning why cattle settlements should be established near the nation’s capital.
“Can the President name one sensible country—from Nairobi to New Delhi, São Paulo to Seoul—where cows are granted permanent settlements near the capital? This absurdity is uniquely Nigerian, and disgracefully so,” IPOB stated.
Powerful further described the plan as an “unforgivable act of aggression and cultural genocide,” warning that the Gbagi people are already being pushed to the margins of their own land.
“Today, the Gbagi are being dispossessed; tomorrow, there will be an Emir of Abuja. In 60 years, like the Hausas, the Gbagi could become historical footnotes—stripped of their heritage and land.”
Reaffirming IPOB’s stance, Powerful declared that no part of Biafraland would be surrendered for cattle ranching, grazing routes, or herder settlements.
“Our forests, villages, and farmlands are sacred—not items for federal negotiation or sacrifice. We will resist any attempt—direct or disguised—to impose this expansionist agenda in our land.”
He argued that in developed nations, livestock is managed with modern systems, such as railway transportation, not through the seizure of indigenous lands.
“No progressive society builds cattle ranches next to schools, homes, or marketplaces. That this administration fails to grasp such basic logic speaks more to its failure than ours.”
The statement concluded with a message of solidarity to the Gbagi people and all indigenous communities under threat from what IPOB termed a Fulani neo-colonial agenda masked as national policy.
“IPOB stands firmly with the Gbagi people and all indigenous nationalities facing existential threats. Let the killings over cows end. Let Nigeria choose reason over ruin. Our diversity must be respected, our heritage preserved, and our ancestral lands protected.”
