Our Fulani And Herdsmen Of Mayhem

By Ifeanyi Izeze

How can we live peaceably together as a people by continuously telling ourselves lies? Abi, it has now become our lifestyle in this country to always rationalize obvious aberrations. For how long can we as a people afford to continue like this?

The increasing sophistication and clinical coordination of the group of mindless attackers we call "Fulani herdsmen" or "cattle rearers" that have meted chained terror to our people in different parts of the country is mind-boggling and embarrassing. To think that what is happening in the North-Central and now in virtually every other part of the country is a mere conflict for grazing rights would only amount to naivety at best, because it is now without a doubt that an evil wind is blowing and no section of the country is spared.

The question to ask is: why is it that these so-called “Fulani herdsmen” always take our security operatives off-guard? They always finish their dastardly acts before the arrival of our counter-terrorism security forces. Haba! And instead of sitting together to marshal out a coordinated approach to address this challenge, managers of our security apparatuses give us the impression that some of them may be privy to these conspiracies against our people.

How do you explain the recent incident in Agatu Local Government Area of Benue State, where Fulani herdsmen, backed by mercenary fighters (as already confirmed), invaded several communities, killing more than 500 natives because they were cautioned to stop taking their cows into people’s farms?

Surprisingly, since the revelation that what we have been calling our cattle rearers were actually well-trained mercenaries in the act of causing mayhem, the government has not instituted any serious mechanism to unravel the real identity of these contract fighters.

*President Buhari visits his cows

Who are these mercenaries - are they Nigerians or foreigners? Where do they come from and who contracts them to go kill and destroy in different parts of the country, particularly the North-Central and now the Southeast and South-South? Who arms them and how come they freely move around with ease with their sophisticated rifles and machine guns without being intercepted by our security operatives at various checkpoints across the country?

First we may need to ask our government: is there anything in this Fulani herdsmen misdemeanor that other non-Fulani Nigerians do not know?

Curiously, the federal government has been nonchalant towards devising appropriate and workable strategies to end these incessant deadly clashes in various parts of the country, where it has become regular to hear mayhem unleashed by so-called Fulani herders on farming communities.

As canvassed by an analyst, “All in all, the murderous invasion of communities by herdsmen, like it happened in Agatu and parts of Enugu and Ebonyi States, is mainly a security issue. Those in charge of security in areas where these things happen should be held to account for the lapses that allow hundreds of people to be slaughtered in cold blood. The Nigerian government must be alive to its primary responsibility of protecting the citizens against attacks and danger.”

Several suggestions by different interest groups and concerned Nigerians have been made for the banning of the current conflict-prone system of moving animals from place to place in search of food and water, and its replacement with the establishment of ranches and other forms of confined grazing space, where animals would be fed with hay and other modern feeds.

It would be recalled that President Buhari told a delegation from the Center for Humanitarian Dialogue in January this year that “a plan to map out grazing areas would soon be presented to the Nigerian Governors Forum as a temporary solution until cattle owners are persuaded to adopt other means of rearing their cattle.”

My brother Senator Shehu Sani, in his “Road Map to Putting an End to Fulani Herdsmen Violence in Nigeria,” had suggested, among other things, the need to immediately set up seven grazing reserves in the States of Niger, Nasarawa, Kogi, Adamawa, Bauchi, Kaduna and Sokoto to significantly stem the movement of herdsmen southwards and drastically curtail the incidences of violent clashes with communities across the country.

There is no doubt that the current pastoralist system urgently needs changing if Nigeria is to overcome the frequent clashes between herdsmen and indigenous populations. The setting up of ranches remains the most feasible option.

As suggested, the grazing reserves should be jointly managed by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, the National Livestock Association, universities of agriculture and the leadership of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association.

Among Senator Sani’s suggestions, my attention was particularly attracted to what he described as the need to document, register and issue identification cards to herdsmen. He suggested the federal government, through federal and State ministries of agriculture and the Cattle Breeders Association, should initiate this on a national level, as this will stem the activities of violent criminals who masquerade as herdsmen to unleash violence against innocent and vulnerable communities.

This is what the government would not want to hear but it’s the absolute truth: violent criminals and terrorists-on-the-run are masquerading as herdsmen to unleash mayhem on innocent and vulnerable communities.

Now we have a president who himself is a cattle breeder and reportedly the Life Patron of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association, the pan-Fulani herders’ union. He should rise above all prejudice, discountenance, and the hitherto government’s nonchalance in this evolving national security challenge to address these incessant bloody clashes involving Fulani herdsmen and indigenous communities across the country. President Buhari is the best-suited man to address this issue. We are watching!

IFEANYI IZEZE lives in Abuja and can be reached an: iizeze@yahoo.com; 234-8033043009