ASSESSMENT OF GOVERNMENT ROLES IN TACKLING THE MENACE OF CATTLE RUSTLING IN NORTH-WESTERN NIGERIA

Abstract

Insecurity resulting from acts of cattle rustling have been more prominent which contributes to loss of lives, displacement of people and destruction of property in the country. Cattle rustling is a national calamity since it poses the same threat as Boko Haram which is always discussed in the media. The purpose of this research is to assess the roles of government in tackling the menace of cattle rustling North Western Nigeria. Two research questions were raised to guide the conduct of the study. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design. The study area is north-western Nigeria. The target population of the study consist of all the government officials, community leaders, and cattle farmers in North-Western Nigeria.  Due to the large number of states in the North- Western Nigeria, the researchers will select and use three states namely: Kaduna, Katsina, and Zamfara as the sample states for the study. The researchers selected a sample of 300 respondents from the three states. These respondents comprise of 100 Government officials, 100 community leaders, and 100 cattle farmers in the three sampled states. The method of sampling used for this study is a multi-stage sampling technique. The various sampling techniques include; simple random sampling technique, purposive sampling technique, and proportional stratified random sampling technique. A structured questionnaire was designed by the researchers and titled “government roles in tackling the menace of Cattle Rustling Opinion Questionnaire” (GRiTMoCROQ). The data collected were analysed using the Mean score methods of data analysis was used to answer the research questions that were raised in this study. The findings of the study showed that cattle rustling is a major threat to the socio-economic development of Nigeria. The study concluded that cattle rustling has crippled most of the development advancements in North-western Nigeria. Based on the above conclusion the following recommendations were put forward;  there is a need for instituting stronger legislation and empowering local traditional authorities who should be tasked with the mandate of stemming cattle rustling activities and existing laws and policies be reviewed and strengthened by the Federal Government, National Assembly, State Governments as well as State Houses of Assemblies.