One of the most worrisome
developments in today’s Nigeria is what appears like a firm resolve by the
Muhammadu Buhari regime to continue circulating the very distressful impression
that it does not know how to solve the endless aggression being unleashed in
different parts of the country by Fulani herdsmen who move and operate as if
there are no laws in the land capable of containing the menace of troublesome
people.
The soft targets of these herders
are usually harmless and toiling farmers whom they gruesomely slaughter in
their farms, and innocent villagers, whose homes, according to reports, they
invade mostly in the middle of the night and set them ablaze. When the people
are suddenly roused from sleep by the raging inferno and run out in confusion,
they are mowed down by the waiting assailants.
And despite the volume of media
reports on the gory occurrences, nothing usually happens: no one will be
arrested, tried and jailed. With no one raising a hand to protect or seek justice for them, the traumatized people
will weep and get tired, quietly bury their dead, that is, if they are able to
find their corpses and mourn them silently, probably, fearing that any noise
from them might offend their killers and bring them back for more bloody
exploits. Then they will leave their village and move elsewhere in the
neighbouring communities to seek shelter since their homes have been destroyed.
They have become refugees in their own country for no fault of theirs.
Soon, everybody else will retrieve
their attention and empathy from them and refocus it on other things until the
herders decide to launch the next bloody attack.
Now, both farmers and herdsmen are
involved in private business. Why does it seem very difficult for the
government to compel the herders to confine their cattle in enclosed places so
that farmers can also carry out their own business uninterrupted? How fair is
it that after spending millions of naira (which are sometimes high interest
loans waiting to be repaid) to raise a farm, the herders would brazenly swoop
on it, unleash their cattle on the crops, and within a very short time, the
entire product of the farmers’ sweat and resources would disappear into the
stomach of the cows, leaving only the ones trampled upon by the animals which
have been destroyed.
And if the farmers dare raise any complaint or attempt to
stop the cattle from destroying their farms, the Fulani herdsmen would
viciously attack and slaughter them, rape their wives and daughters before
deciding to kill, maim or allow them to live with injuries.
Later, if their
bloodlust was yet to be assuaged, they will return in the wee hours for more
havoc, which will culminate in the
razing and sacking of the village. And nothing will happen afterwards! Those
who are able to survive the genocide will go to silently lick their wounds at
whatever place they are able to find refuge. Yes, nothing will happen because
these killers appear to enjoy some form of special immunity from the
consequences of their actions.
*President Buhari visits his cows |
The solution to this menace should
have been very simple and straightforward if the federal government were
impartial and sincere about achieving a fair and lasting settlement and ending
the perennial bloody destructions. The first action that betrays its
insincerity is the decision to dress up what is clearly brazen and remorseless
aggressions against innocent and hardworking farmers with the misleading
euphemism, “farmers-herders clashes.” So if people are on their property and
some others trespass into the place, cause willful damage, and then proceed to
kill and maim the owners for challenging or resisting them, is that the meaning
of “clash” in the dictionary of the Federal Government of Nigeria?
Even President Buhari knows that
the most effective way to deter criminals in a civilized society is to arrest
everyone that had committed an offence (no matter the motivation), subject him
to trial in court and punish him. But his government has refused to do that in
respect of the herdsmen. It took a whole nine months to arrest the herdsmen
that murdered the daughter of Afenifere leader, Pa Reuben Fasoranti. It is even
possible that they were arrested because of the status of the elder statesman
involved, and the political implication of not doing anything about the
perpetrators of the murder.
During his first term when the
elders and leaders from Benue State visited him in Aso Villa in respect of the
mass slaughter perpetrated by the Fulani herdsmen in their place, the president
pleaded with them to try and restrain their people from undertaking a reprisal
attack. And after that, what did the government do? Was anyone arrested or
tried for the pogrom? At another time, the president pleaded with them to “accommodate”
their “brothers” (the killer-herdsmen) in their midst. Later in Jos, he said
that he would pray to get a solution to the herdsmen menace. Imagine that!
Indeed,
it is very sad and destabilizing that in a country not officially engaged in a
war, no day passes without the media serving the citizenry the ugly and
dizzying accounts of the gory exploits of suspected Fulani herdsmen across the
country. It would seem that for them, a day can only be regarded as fulfilling
if they are able to smear the ground with some pints (or even gallons) of human
blood. It is most shocking that they are always able to gratify this benumbing
obsession with utmost impunity in a country governed by human beings.
It is
true that beef is required as a source of protein for humans, but that is not
the only thing that Nigerians feed on. The farmers need to work on their farms
too to produce yam, cassava, vegetables, grains and several other food items
for the consumption of the people. Cattle and these other farm products need not
be mutually exclusive on the menu of Nigerians. Both are required to achieve a
balanced diet, so it would be foolish to think that one is more important than
the other and that one should be destroyed in order to feed the other. The
government should stop hiding behind one finger and hasten to compel the
herders to confine their cows in enclosures and buy cattle feed to sustain
them, while the farmers should be left in peace to work on their farms. This is
only fair and just. The herdsmen should be prevented from continuing to disturb
the peace of the country and shed innocent blood in order to carry out their
private business.
Reports
that many farmers are now afraid to go to their farms due to the benumbing fear
of being harassed, maimed, raped or even killed by armed Fulani herdsmen should
seriously worry every well-meaning Nigerian. The famers who are able to summon
the courage to go to their farms are not even sure that their crops will not
soon become food for the cattle. It is now farming season and what does this
terrible situation portend for our country when the harvest time comes?
Will
the Fulani herdsmen plunge Nigeria into food crisis? Will Nigerians suffer
starvation because the government has chosen to pamper the herdsmen (at the expense of the country’s
food security) instead of reining them in? Why must land farming be sacrificed
in order that cattle rearing may thrive?
On
Wednesday, June 10, 2020, the House of Representatives adopted a motion on the “Need to Stop the Entry of Herdsmen from
other African Countries into Nigeria.” Moving the motion, the House
Minority Leader, Ndudi Elumelu, explained that “the House is concerned that
those herdsmen who are militant in nature have consistently instilled fear in
lives of local farmers and villagers living in the affected areas by the use of
coercion, intimidation, brute force and extreme violence, in most cases,
leaving a large number of persons dead.”
According to him, “the House believes that it has become
necessary to lend a voice to Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State that a
stop be put to the movement of herdsmen from other African countries to
Nigeria, so as to curb the rate of crime and conflicts associated with their
movements across Nigeria.”
The Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum (SMBLF) in
statement (according to Vanguard of June 10, 2020) has
equally endorsed Gov Ganduje’s position.
“The position of the governor better
appreciates the lawlessness of the armed herdsmen that has led to the loss of
hundreds of lives around the country in recent years with the Federal
Government turning a blind eye to these atrocities or making statements that
tacitly encourage them. We still have not come to terms with the declaration by
the President last year that Africans are free to come to Nigeria and obtain
visas on arrival when he once identified Ghadafi militia men as a bulk of the
troublers of Nigeria under the guise of herding. It is also worrying that while
the police have been troubling those who own licensed guns to come and return
them, herdsmen who carry illegal sophisticated weapons like AK 47 roam free all
over Nigeria…The peace of Nigeria is currently under threat because of the
activities of the herdsmen under whose roaming crimes of kidnapping,
destruction of communities and killings of innocent people are taking place. We
call on the President to rise to the duty of his office to protect all
Nigerians and hearken to the call of Governor Ganduje to halt these movements
and prosecute those who are committing crimes against humanity under the guise
of herding,” the SMBLF said in the statement.
Sometimes,
it does seem that this distinction between “local” and “foreign” herdsmen is a
clear diversionary ploy. No matter which of the groups (assuming such a
distinction really exists) that is perpetrating the atrocities, Nigeria has
sufficient laws capable of containing them, that is, if those laws are allowed
to work and deter crime. Whoever commits crime, whether a foreigner of an
indigene, should be arrested, tried and dealt with according to the law. That
is how civilized societies function. Government should, therefore, muster the
will to ensure the prosecution of all the herdsmen killing, raping and razing the homes of
innocent rural farmers and destroying their farms.
It is sad that some states that have enacted laws
banning open grazing have come under intense hostility. But more states should
muster the courage to also make this law. They have a responsibility to protect
their people and their sources of livelihood.
A looming danger is that if government continues to watch
passively as innocent people are attacked, violated and killed by herdsmen, the
victims might one of these days resort to self-help and anarchy will engulf the
country. Already, following the killing a 65-year old man, Mr. Uzoemena Eriaka,
in his farm in Umuekpu, Agwa, Oguta Council Area of Imo State, Ohaneze
Ndigbo has asked the people to defend themselves against the relentless
attacks from Fulani herdsmen which have led to several killings of people and
sexual abuses of women and girls. Vanguard newspaper of June 17, 2020,
quotes Mr. Emeka Atama, the media aide to the president general of Ohaneze
Ndigbo
as saying: “We have been
pushed to the wall. We have no other option than to rise up now, gird our loins
and face the seemingly intractable insecurity.”
According to him: “The rampant killing and raping of defenseless people in their homes and farms has made it imperative for people to take all measures possible to defend themselves from these hoodlums. The rampant killing and raping of defenseless people in their homes and farms has made it imperative for people to take all measures possible to defend themselves from these hoodlums. Communities should organise themselves and fight back these killers. It is unfortunate that the Federal Government stripped people of their means of self defence without providing adequate protection for them or ensuring commensurate disarming in the North, especially among herdsmen.”
According to him: “The rampant killing and raping of defenseless people in their homes and farms has made it imperative for people to take all measures possible to defend themselves from these hoodlums. The rampant killing and raping of defenseless people in their homes and farms has made it imperative for people to take all measures possible to defend themselves from these hoodlums. Communities should organise themselves and fight back these killers. It is unfortunate that the Federal Government stripped people of their means of self defence without providing adequate protection for them or ensuring commensurate disarming in the North, especially among herdsmen.”
As more and more communities across the
countries brace up to defend themselves against the murderous attacks of
killer-herdsmen, no one can predict what the country could be turned into.
President Buhari should take urgent steps to rein in the Fulani herdsmen before
they plunge the country into avoidable crisis.
Well-meaning Fulanis should be
worried by the consequences of the activities of the herdsmen given the
unappealing image they are attracting to them. As the herdsmen parade
themselves with this grand illusion that they are above the law, have they ever
stopped to wonder how they would be able to sustain this unhealthy state of
affairs without serious consequences which might even lead to bigger crises
after Buhari had left office?
Why is Buhari not worried that his
stance on the activities of Fulani herdsmen has irrecoverably destroyed the
concept of “One North” as the Middle Belt now prefers to align with the
South than maintaining what it now sees as an unprofitable “One North” arrangement
that has not even in any way helped to halt the endless mass slaughter of their
people. When will the core North realize what the activities of the Fulani
herdsmen have cost it so much politically?
The Middle Belt has long enjoyed
the reputation as the “food basket” of the country, but will they still be able
to live up to this name with the herdsmen killing and driving their farmers
from their farms and preventing them from cultivating? Will Nigeria be
prevented from being able to produce enough food for herself because of these
herdsmen?
No doubt, Nigeria is on the verge
of being plunged into very serious food crisis. President Buhari and those
advising him should hasten to prevent this looming food scarcity whose effect
is already showing in the market. Nigeria is bigger than the herdsmen and
should not be subjected to avoidable hunger because a few people are protected
from the just consequences of treating the laws that govern an orderly society
with unqualified disdain.
*Ugochukwu Ejinkeonye is a Nigerian Journalist and Writer
(scruples2006@yahoo.com; twitter: ugowrite)
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