By Gabriel Ewepu

ABUJA – FOLLOWING refusal to adhere to safety and healthy practices operators of abbatoirs across the country, the National President, NVMA, Dr Moses Arokoyo, Thursday, urged veterinarians to clampdown on unhealthy abbatoirs to safeguard the lives of Nigerians.

Speaking at the 2025 Annual Leadership Summit of the Association with the theme ‘The Nigerian Veterinarian: Livestock Development and National Service Delivery’, Dr Arokoyo lamented and expressed dismay over the way and manner abbatoirs are across the country are, and said it is unacceptable, therefore, charged members to ensure a serious clampdown to safeguard the lives of Nigerians.

He maintained that quackery in the industry is deadly to the lives of Nigerians including the profession, therefore, must be resisted and death with with serious measures in place.

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 2050 will rise from 10 million to 39 million if not checked.

“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.”

However, the NVMA boss assured the newly created Ministry of Livestock Development support by the Association in order to harness the potential of the livestock sector that would reposition the country in the international community as far as the enormous livestock resources are concerned.

Meanwhile, in a keynote presentation, Dr Junaidu Maina who is also the Chairman, Danwaire Consulting Limited, pointed out that Veterinarians should be in the vanguard of the livestock sector based on the contributions they make to livestock development, policy formulation and implementation, economic growth, food security and nutrition, public health and employment creation in Nigeria.

According to Maina, veterinary services have upscaled livestock production, attracted foreign investments into the sector, backed development of livestock research programmes, and others.