A Problem Like Fulani Herdsmen

By Ugochukwu Ejinkeonye

The brutal abduction early last week of Chief Olu Falae, a former secretary to the government of the federation (SGF) and former finance minister, by a band of suspected Fulani herdsmen has once again brought to the fore the often tragic excesses of these cattle herders whose distorted and unwholesome understanding of their place as co-inhabitants in their host communities appears to have led them into the erroneous and dangerous belief that they are, perhaps, incapable of being restrained by any law.

On Monday, September 21, 2015, the day Falae turned 77, armed Fulani herdsmen reportedly stormed his farm at Ilado in Akure North council of Ondo State, attacked his workers and violently took him away.  This is how his personal assistant (PA), Capt Moshood Raji (retd), explained what happened while speaking with newsmen in Akure  on Thursday, September 24, the day Falae regained his freedom, as reported by Vanguard newspaper on Friday:

“About a month ago, there was a clash between the herdsmen and Chief when some cows destroyed maize on the farm. I was the one that led the policemen to arrest them. We arrested some and detained them for about four days. Chief Falae said he has no problem with them that they have to sign an undertaking that they will not go there again. They signed an agreement that they will not go there again. The Fulani Secretary signed for them. The secretary then said I should caution Oga (Falae) that he should go and fence his farm. He said if he dared harm any cow or kill any of their cows, there would be trouble. He said that before the officer in charge of SARS. They have [now] carried out the threat. What they destroyed was about N500,000.00 but N120,000 was paid and the chief distributed the money to all his workers when it was brought to him.”

After his abductors set him free, Falae reportedly told Governor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State who visited him that during his four days in captivity, he was made to sleep on bare floor and trek several kilometers from his farm in Ilado, where he was kidnapped, to about 10 kilometers near Owo, where he was eventually set free. And when Gen Alani Akinrinade visited him on Monday September 28, he explained further: