News Editor
By David Odama
National President of Nigerian Veterinary Medical Association, NVMA, Dr. Moses Arokoyo has called on the members of the association to take drastic action to remedy the unhealthy conditions of abattoirs across the country and guarantee the safety of Nigerians.
Arokoyo, who made the call on Thursday in Abuja at the 2025 Annual Leadership Summit of the association, themed: “The Nigerian Veterinarian: Livestock Development and National Service Delivery”, decried the unhealthy and deplorable conditions of abattoirs across the country.
He said: “In strong terms for the safety of Nigerians, we must arise to condemn all unhealthy forms of protein production and slaughter at our abattoirs.
“Quackery in all its shades and colours must be condemned, the ‘romance’ can simply not be allowed to continue.
“It is unsafe and unhealthy for us all. The postulated annual death figure from anti-microbial resistance by 2025 has risen from 10million annually to 39million.”
Arokoyo underscored the need for the members of the association to embark on awareness creation on the emerging zoonotic diseases as well as promote animal welfare in the country.
“We live in a world that has not just become a global village but has a dynamism of change that has become geometric; the rate of urbanisation has led to lots of interaction with and ‘disturbance’ of nature and not without its attendant consequences; emerging and re-emerging diseases is the order of the day as we have witnessed multiple outbreaks of zoonotic diseases in quick succession this year already.
“Our role in raising awareness on emerging zoonotic threats, promoting animal welfare, advancing scientific research and making known the effects of climate change can no longer be handled with levity, we must rise and sound the alarm, as we are the gatekeepers of public health and safety.
“Food safety and security is an increasingly topical issue not just in Nigeria, but globally and as custodians of animal production and health, we must safeguard, preserve, increase, and ensure the healthy production of protein needed by the teeming population of Nigeria,” he stressed.
Commenting on the recent establishment of Federal Ministry of Livestock Development, Arokoyo, described it as “well appreciated strategic step,” assuring that the NVMA would continue to support the Ministry to become an arrowhead in the quest to maximise the Nigerian livestock potential.
He, therefore, called on the members of NVMA to rise up and take their rightful place in repositioning the livestock sector, adding that “It takes a team approach and in the spirit of one-health, we shall contribute in no small measure, Nigeria is our home.”
In his keynote presentation, Dr. Junaidu Maina, the chairman, Danwaire Consulting Limited, underscored the need for veterinarians to take their rightful place in society.
Maina, who enumerated the contributions of Veterinarians to livestock development, said the profession has contributed immensely to policy formulation and implementation, economic growth, food security and nutrition, public health and employment creation in Nigeria.
On the contribution of animal health to livestock development, he said veterinary services have enhanced livestock productivity, promoted foreign investment, supported development of livestock research programmes, among others.
