Resolving The Herdsmen Menace

By Dennis Brown James

The Federal Government’s passive condem­nation of the killings and mayhem unleashed by Fulani herdsmen across the federation re­cently is not what is required to douse the ten­sion and apprehension in many quarters in the country today.

To say that this carnage has led to a severe disruption of our national economy is a mere understatement. Apart from the fact that many communities have been sacked, abandoned or now live in perpetual fear of imminent attacks, many farmlands have been obliterated with scores of farmers killed.

The Federal Government under the leader­ship of President Muhammadu Buhari should reach a consensus with all the warring parties on how to nip these mindless killings in the bud before it is too late to do so.

The pockets of reprisal attacks and counter attacks witnessed in various communities that were affected in these tensions are an indica­tion that this might snowball into national chaos that might leave Nigeria’s national fab­ric badly affected and threaten her corporate existence, to the consternation of many of us. The activities of the herdsmen may still bring about the previous bookmaker’s prophecies that Nigeria will disintegrate in 2015.

It is necessary to note that the Boko Haram con­flagration that shook the three North Eastern States of Adamawa, Yobe and Borno with its spillover into Abuja and other States were not an easy nut to crack for our military and other security agencies. This monster started like a mere boil that spiralled into a debilitating cancer that nearly turned our Nigerian Army to a mere untrained militia. Such a national disaster would not have occurred if those at the helm of national security and the respective governments (States and Federal) had quickly swung into action.

We now have a national issue at hand which must be quickly looked into, to curb the gross mortality that has been recorded within this short time of ac­tion. Though this is not the first time we are having rifts between farmers and herdsmen, but it is neces­sary to note that this recent carnage has taken a re­newed dimension that got the widest publicity due to it being one of the worst in recent times in the country.

The Federal Government should assume its role as our father in securing the lives of both the Fulani herdsmen and their host communities, the lives of the cattle and the crops of the farmers. Once this is done, peace will be regained with no one being the victor or the vanquished.

I use this medium to seek immediate attention from all the stakeholders, politicians, kings, ethnic group leaders, diplomats, friends of Nigeria, the Fu­lani herdsmen, the farmers, the host communities the Christians, the Muslims and all peace loving people of Nigeria to have all hands on deck in seeking the best way to achieve peace, mend fences and address the rancour that led to the bloodbath.

Appropriate attention should be paid to the herdsmen who are purported to have been guid­ing their cattle with sophisticated weapons. The Nigeria Police and the Department of State Security should quickly swing into action and arrest those in possession of firearms and inves­tigate their sources. They should also bring to book those who are culpable in these mindless killings.

The Federal Government under Buhari should quickly design palliative measures that would alleviate the loss of human lives, proper­ties, farmlands and also settle the medical bills of those who were injured.

The state governments should hold an emergency meeting at which this issue would be treated as a national challenge. The Customs Service, the Nigeria Immigration, the Nigeria Police and the Nigerian Army should also treat the guarding of our borders with utmost care.

They must ensure that people of questionable characters do not use these points to bring in weapons into Nigeria under the guise of being herdsmen. They all also should reach an agree­ment to do their work diligent to protect the ter­ritorial integrity of the country.

*James writes from Abuja