The return of
Jangali, or livestock tax, along with direct adult tax, haraji, were first abolished in those early giddy days of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) rule in Kano and Kaduna states in 1980. It was at a time the socialist euphoria was wafting across those states. States had plenty coming from the Federation Account and the PRP governments felt they didn’t need revenues from those taxes that they considered unjust and exploitative. In particular, Governor Abubakar Rimi of Kano State had decried those taxes as ‘major pillars of feudal and colonial oppression and exploitation’. Thus in one fell swoop governors Abubakar Rimi and Balarabe Musa of Kano and Kaduna states decided to cancel those taxes. Not to be outdone all the other states, despite party differences, toed the line and also gradually cancelled the two taxes.
However, after so many years, now the grave implications of doing away with the taxes are just manifesting. Truly, direct taxation has surreptitiously returned in various ways, particularly in the form of the ubiquitous Value Added Tax (VAT), which everyone now pays at point of sales. But the jangali never returned and the loss was calamitous not only as a source of revenue to the state treasuries but also to the herding communities. In 1980, the loss of direct adult tax to Kano State treasury was estimated at about $8m and jangali about $4m which would total to about six billion Naira in today’s rates.
It looked like a big relief to the herding communities to be liberated from the burden of this tax. Many celebrated its cancellation as a triumph of sorts, only to be faced with the stark realities as events unrolled. The herding communities realized that it was an empty victory. Not paying the jangali alienated them from the state and they became virtually on their own. To their chagrin they realised that the various interventions they enjoyed during the jangali regime vanished, one after the other. Then the state was diligently providing various life-saving services to the herders. The herds, mostly cattle but including other ruminants such as goats and sheep, were getting free inoculation and other ancillary veterinary medical services from the state. The herders were protected from the iniquities of harassment by rustlers. And when they ran into problems with farmers, as they were wont to, the state made decisive interventions to settle matters amicably.
Now the herders have become more or less orphans in many states of the federation, hardly attracting any government support despite the immense contribution of their wealth to the overall national economy. To worsen matters they earned the label of kidnappers and robbers,