IT was like a scene from a horror movie –only that
this was no film. Neither was it a rehearsal. On Monday, April 25,
residents of about seven communities at Nimbo, Uzo-Uwani Local
Government Area of Enugu State woke up to find that the entire area had
been invaded by over 500 gun-toting, machete-wielding Fulani herdsmen.
The communities are Nimbo Ngwoko, Ugwuijoro, Ekwuru, Ebor, Enugu Nimbo,
Umuome and Ugwuachara.
The marauders allegedly set fire to houses and set about killing the
residents. Even as the burning homes smouldered, with the smoke drifting
into the sky, over 40 villagers had been mindlessly murdered, with no
fewer than 11 homes razed.
Among the facilities torched were churches, including the Christ Holy Catholic Church, Odozi-Obodo.
One of the victims of the attack is Kingsley Ezugwu, former
Councillor, Nimbo Ward 2. He remains grateful that he was not felled by
the herdsmen’s bullets. From his hospital bed in Nsukka, Ezugwu
recalled: “I was coming out from the house when I heard the community
bell ringing. I was going with a friend to know what the bell was all
about, only to see about 40 Fulani herdsmen armed with sophisticated
guns and machetes.
“They pursued us, killed my friend and shot at me several times but
missed. They caught up with me and used machetes on me until I lost
consciousness.”
Early this month, Ondo State governor, Dr Olusegun Mimiko hosted a
peace parley in his office at the state capital, Akure. He had called
the meeting following yet another killing by suspected Fulani herdsmen
on a farm in the state capital.
A few days earlier, the armed cattlemen had allegedly abducted and
slaughtered Mr. Ayodele Ige, a leader of the OPC and head of the guards
keeping watch on the farm of elder statesman and former presidential
candidate, Chief Olu Falae in Akure. The OPC had warned that its
leader’s callous murder would attract appropriate consequences, and
Mimiko’s meeting was called to avert the looming war.
At the meeting, Governor Mimiko regretted that the federal government
was not paying sufficient attention to the issue of Fulani herdsmen and
their tyrannical tendencies all over the country. He noted that the
situation was getting grimmer by the day, warning that it could result
in an expansive conflagration that might be difficult to contain.
Said he: “There is no question about the fact that this is becoming a
monster of sorts. I have had cause to express my view on this on many
occasions and I think we all ignored this menace as a nation. I can see
us moving towards a precipice and we must do something about it as early
as possible. It is getting dangerous. The audacity is very disturbing.
“These herdsmen must be called to order. These wanton destructions,
audacious incursions into other people’s territory cannot continue for
too long. They just go to the farms and devastate the farms. Some
farmers have been turned to perpetual debtors because some of the
inputs for the farms are from bank loans. The herdsmen will just get
there and destroy these farmlands, and we are talking of
diversification.
“But I think if we don’t do anything about the activities of these
herdsmen, I can see a threat to the security of this country. It is a
major challenge and I think the President and all major stakeholders
should take this as a very serious challenge.”
Mimiko’s concern isn’t a one-off affair. Across the country in the
past months, not a few are those that have expressed worry at the
sudden, glaring temerity of the herdsmen, many of whom have now
discarded their signature herdsman’s sticks, replacing them with assault
rifles. These days, from community to community, they strike,
triggering deaths and wreaking massive misery on villages and
villagers. They sack entire communities and rape both young and old
women.
Clashes between Fulani herdsmen and local communities are no recent
developments. Over the years, farmers and cattlemen have engaged in
bloody feuds in many communities across the various states in the
country. The herdsmen have been accused of leading their cows to graze
on farmlands, totally devastating crops and people’s means of
livelihoods. And at the slightest resistance, the herdsmen would go on
the rampage, killing farmers, burning farms and pillaging entire
communities.
The Agatu massacre
For years, the Fulani cattlemen have always left a gory trail of
tears, sorrow and death across the country after each bloody engagement
with local farmers. But in February, their atrocities attained
unprecedented infamy and provoked global outrage when they attacked
communities in Agatu local Government Area of Benue State.
Before dawn on Wednesday, February 24, villagers in Aila, Ugboju,
Akwu, Odugbeho and Enogaje communities in the Agatu Local Government,
an area that shares a border with Nasarawa State, were crudely jostled
out of their early morning slumber as gunshots pierced the ears and hot
bullets pierced the hearts of men, women and children. Fulani fighters,
armed with guns, machetes and charms, among other weapons of war,
invaded the communities, killing and maiming and unleashing an orgy of
violence.
After murdering as many as they could and sacking the entire
communities, the invaders set fire to the houses, virtually razing
Agatuland.
Till date, no one has been able to give the exact number of those
killed, but the immediate past Senate President, David Mark, said the
casualties could not have been fewer than 500.
Mark said after a visit to the scene of war: “This violence on our
people is unacceptable. I have gone and assessed the level of
destruction and what I saw was very shocking. This is a clear violence
targeted at my people, and this must stop forthwith.
“I will ensure that the appropriate authorities know the details of this carnage and evolve ways to prevent further escalation.”
Till date, many members of the Agatu communities rendered homeless
by the cattlemen have been seeking refuge in various internally
displaced persons (IDPs) camps scattered across Benue and Nasarawa
States.
Asked why the Fulani men were so ruthless in Agatuland, a Fulani
leader in the community said the natives had slaughtered about 10,000
cattle belonging to the Fulani men.
But Saleh Bayeri, the Interim National Secretary of Gan Allah Fulani
Association, said the February killings were a reprisal by his people
against the Agatus who he accused of killing a prominent Fulani man in
2013.
An index of terror
In the past few years, the statistics of the terror unleashed on innocent communities across the country have been mindboggling.
In Adamawa State last February, gunmen believed to be Fulani
herdsmen killed a Divisional Police Officer (DPO) and 19 members of the
public. Many houses were razed in the clash. Also in the same month, it
was the turn of communities in Buruku Local Government Area of Benue
State. Dozens were killed and homes destroyed during the invasion.
Shortly after, armed herdsmen invaded Abbi community in Uzo- Uwani
Local Government Area of Enugu State. At the end of the siege, many laid
dead, houses were razed while farms were destroyed. Till date, 19
persons are missing in the community.
It wasn’t the first time that they would be unleashing violence in
the area. In June 2014, Fulani herdsmen allegedly invaded more than 40
agrarian communities in Ezeagu Local Government Area of Enugu State.
The herdsmen allegedly destroyed farmlands, raped women and killed many.
In March 2015, suspected Fulani herdsmen murdered one Chief Tamgbo
Ogueji, a member of the traditional ruler’s cabinet at Eke community in
Udi Local Government Area of Enugu State. The 85-year-old man was shot
in his house following an altercation with some herdsmen. The previous
year, two men from the community -Matthew Aniugo and Chiagha Chigbo
-were also reportedly murdered in their farms by Fulani herdsmen.
Early this year, two women working on their farms in Ugwuleshi in Agwu
Local Government Area of the state were allegedly abducted by herdsmen.
In November last year, 22 persons, including women and children, were
killed when suspected Fulani herdsmen attacked nine communities in
Dekina Local Government Area of Kogi State. Villagers in Agojeju,
Ikpoba, Ojeh, Ajomojayi, Ajadaji, Idochi, Ojiyanawo, Ulaja and
Oganenigu were brutally gunned down or slaughtered. Many are still
missing.
In the South West, herdsmen have also been on the rampage, inflicting
terror on different communities. In Ijebu-Igbo area of Ogun State, six
traditional rulers accused herdsmen of destroying farmlands and raping
their subjects. Last year, Chief Olu Falae, a former presidential
candidate, was kidnapped by suspected Fulani herdsmen right on his
farmland in Ilado, Akure, the Ondo State capital. He was later released
after a ransom of N5 million was paid. Barely two weeks after the
incident, herdsmen again invaded and destroyed over one square
kilometre of his maize farm.
Early this year, Ayodede Ige, leader of the guards on the same farm, was abducted and killed by Fulani herdsmen.
Ondo State Agricultural Commodities Association said Fulani herdsmen
had gone beyond merely grazing on farms to “a new dimension of bush
burning, rape and physical attack with machetes, robbery, kidnapping and
destruction being recorded across the state.”
In March this year, Dr. Taiwo Akande, Rector, Federal Polytechnic,
Ado-Ekiti, said the institution’s farms were being devastated by Fulani
herdsmen.
In Zankan, Kaduna State, close to 50 people were killed following an
allegation that two cows were poisoned in the area. Many others were
rendered homeless in the clash.
Statistics of such bloody clashes indicate that thousands have been
killed in several attacks in agrarian communities in the country in the
past few years.
Some people have blamed the recent audacity of the herdsmen on their
affinity with President Muhammadu Buhari who is the Life Patron of the
Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association. Many have also condemned the
president for not showing enough leadership by condemning the
tyrannies of the cattle breeders.
Already, many people have canvassed that the herdsmen be evicted
from their land. Afenifere, the pan- Yoruba group, has said the
herdsmen must be banned from the South West.
Grazing Bill
In the past few weeks, there had been considerable noise over a
purported National Grazing Bill that would empower the federal
government to acquire land in any part of the country for cattlemen.
Although the Senate has denied considering any such bill, opponents have
said the idea of the bill was to take farmlands belonging to
communities all over the country and make them federal land permanently
held for the Fulani herdsmen. All over the country, especially in the
South and North Central, the proposed grazing reserves have been roundly
rejected. Even the Fulani herdsmen are not too pleased with the idea of
grazing reserves, saying they need to move around to feed their cattle.
A ticking time bomb
Right now, there is palpable apprehension and intense outrage among
communities in the South- East, South-West, South-South and
North-Central states over the activities of herdsmen and the presumed
silence of the federal government. Many Nigerians have called on the
President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration to tackle the issue
frontally, warning that soon, communities might start defending
themselves and their land, a situation that may lead to an all-out war.
Some have contended that the killings and arson perpetrated by the
herdsmen merit a national broadcast by the president. Although the
authorities of the Nigeria Police said they had started arresting
gun-wielding herdsmen, many of them still go about with AK 47 rifles
slung over their shoulders.
How will the federal government tackle these rampaging herdsmen spreading sorrow across the land? The nation waits.
The life of a Fulani herdsman
Fulani is a tribe of people that are found in most parts of Africa.
They are bound together by their language and some shared cultural and
occupational values, many of which have become part of their identity.
According to different scholars, the Fulani people originated from
the Arabian Peninsula, migrating thereafter, to different parts of the
African continent, among them Nigeria. In Nigeria, the Fulani are
found mostly in the Northern region from where they occasionally
migrate, as pastoralists, to different parts of the country depending on
the season of the year.
Abdullahi Dauda, aged 37, is a Kaduna-based Fulani herdsman who has
taken after the ways of his forebears. “Since I was very young, my
parents trained me on cattle rearing. Cattle rearing has been with us
from the days of our great grandfather. It is an inheritance, he stated
proudly.
Today, Dauda is a proud owner of over 80 cattle. At dawn, he takes
off with his cattle from Ruga, through Nnamdi Azikiwe Western bypass,
Kaduna to distances of grazing fields. At dusk, he returns with his
cattle only to set off the next day. That is his typical life, a routine
he has done all his adult life, and would perhaps, do till his death.
All his cows are being milked as early 7. 00 am, just in time before
the journey to the fields. The milking is designed to get enough milk
for the herders to drink ahead of the grazing trip, which could
sometimes be a very long trip.
The herders are strong as their cattle, trekking distances, Dauda
reflected, adding that, “We don’t get tired when we are trekking with
the cows. But if we walk alone, we easily get tired and if you are not
strong, you may not meet up the pace of the cattle even as they appear
to be walking slowly” He described his cattle with love and cordiality,
saying that he guards with all he has.
The philosophy of the Fulani herdsman
It is common knowledge that the Fulani herdsman and his herds are
very close, sharing an uncommon bond that is not easily explained.
Elder statesman and Nigeria’s former Ambassador to the United
Nations, Alhaji Yusuf Maitama Sule harped on this relationship in a
recent interview.
His words: ” The philosophy of the herdsman, you may have observed
and may have seen is that the Fulani herdsman is always in front of his
cows, leading them. He is not behind them driving them from behind. He
is in front leading his cattle. The Fulani herdsman hangs a stick over
his shoulders. That stick is not for beating them. It is for guarding
his cattle. That Fulani herdsman can make his cattle do everything he
wants them to do. While he is leading them in front, if he stops
anywhere, they all would stop. If he should jump into the water, they
all would jump into the water. If he starts running, all of them would
run after him. He names all of his cattle. If he calls any one of his
cattle by their name, they would come to him. It would leave the herd
and come to him.
“In those days when there was the cattle tax, the Jangali, and if the
tax man came to count the cattle in his herds, if he did not want his
cattle to be counted, he would whistle or make a tune and the cows would
all disperse into the forest.
“After the tax man had gone, he would make another whistle and they
would all come back to him. During the rainstorm, the herdsman would
take shelter under the tree and these animals would come and chase him
away from under the tree and bring him to the open and make a circle
around him, protecting him. “They would not want him to sit under the
tree for the fear that thunder may fall and crush their leader. Now, why
do these cows behave like that? Why are they so obedient to their
leader? The herdsman has sacrificed his life for his cattle, he has
sacrificed his leisure for his cattle; he has sacrificed his health for
his cattle”.
“For the herdsman never leaves his cattle. He would sleep with the
cows in the forest. If any one of them sleeps in the middle of the
night, he would go out and get his herbs and leaves and treat this cow.
If in the middle of the night he hears the cry of a leopard trying to
take away a single calf, he would rather die than allow that wild animal
to take away his calf”
The cordial relationship between the herdsman and his herds was
illustrated by Mallam Ardo Isuhyu Manya, aged 60, who was born at Fanfon
Malam, a village located some 16 kilometres from Katsina metropolis,
one of the several other villages where Fulani cattle breeders raise and
graze their animals.
He told Saturday Sun that, “I inherited this business from
my late father and I hope to pass it on to my children” adding that one
of his sons, Hassan, 30, was already in the business with him.
“In the course of these years I have been doing this, we have never
had any case of attacks by cattle rustlers or robbers, whether in
Nigeria or in Niger. We are forced to embark on these journeys with the
cattle because there is not enough rainfall here to sustain the grass
that feed our cattle.”
For the Fulani herdsman, life can be as simple as they have defined
it. For shelter, he lives with his family in a shack in a vast desert.
He says, “I am comfortable with what I have because I make enough money
from my cattle, which enables me to take care of my two wives and the
children.
“Each time I travel, I leave some cows behind so that my wives can
get milk from them which they sell and also consume.” If you intend to
shop for a cow, you may not be able to buy direct from Manya and other
cattle breeders and grazers in the forest or as they pass through the
towns, no matter the offer. “I cannot sell for you here even if you
give me double the price. If you want to buy cows, you go to the cattle
market,” he said.
Metamorphosis of herdsmen
Initially, they were seen as a group in search of pasture for their
cows. Now, they are described more as terrorists out to perpetuate
brigandage in any part of the country they come into. This perception
aptly encapsulates the evolution of the herdsmen in Nigeria.
Time was when the Fulani herdsmen were held by Nigerians to be a
peaceful group of nomads tending their cows. Nobody perceived them as
threats. In those days, nomads were only armed with long staff, their
kettle and sometime, a dagger hidden inside their clothes. But all that
have changed as these herdsmen have evolved overtime.
The nomads, known for migrating from one location to another in
search of grazing lands for their cattle, are said to usually incur the
wrath of locals who allege that herdsmen’s cows cause a lot of damage in
their farmlands by grazing on their crops. The tensions between Fulani
communities and farmer communities in Nigeria, especially in the Middle
Belt region have been on from time immemorial. In the intermittent
clashes that occured saw the herdsmen elevating in the form of the
weaponry they use. They began to clutch bows and poisoned arrows with
charms as they move into communities.
Failure by successive governments to provide solutions, and quell the
longstanding standoffs between the nomads and farmers, saw the
conflicts festering for decades. Both sides continued to nurse seething
suspicion and hatred, which have led to various attacks, counter-attacks
and reprisals.
Owing to these unbridled violent clashes, these herdsmen in recent
years further evolved. They became a more deadly group that wield
automatic guns, brandish various weapons and even carry out coordinated
onslaught on communities that are perceived as threats to their nomadic
activities.
The tension between herdsmen and farmers have witnessed a dramatic
and astronomical escalation in recent times. Bloody attacks,
kidnappings, raping and killings carried out by the nomads continue to
be prevalent across the country. It thus became apparent that herdsmen
have metamorphosed into a most dangerous specie across the states of the
federation especially in North central and southern states .
The havoc wreaked by the cattle-grazers has gotten them to be named
one of the deadliest terror groups in the world amongst Boko Haram,
ISIS, Taliban and the Al-Shabab militants. According to global terrorism
statistics, herdsmen are ranked as the fourth deadliest terror group
in the world.
Between 2010 and 2013, the Fulani militants reportedly killed 80
people. By 2014 and 2015, they had killed over 1500 individual in
various communities of Nigeria. And just within the first quarter of
2016, the herdsmen have already massacred not less than 500 people in
various communities of Adamawa, Benue, Delta, various states of
South-West and most recently in Enugu where they were reported to have
sacked a community after killing scores of indigenes last Monday.
In the Global Terrorism index of 2015, over 90% of these attacks
carried out by the herdsmen are on citizens, and these attacks have
mainly been through armed assaults.
Security experts have raised pertinent questions about how these
herdsmen’s assess sophisticated weaponry, and who authorized them to
carry about such arms? The Fulani herdsmen continue to ascribe
continued stealing of their animals as the major reason for them to
parade with automatic guns.
Movement/ Migration
Alhaji Na’atta lives in Hadejia, Jigawa State. Speaking to Saturday Sun,
he explained that for the Fulani herdsman, migration from one place to
another is a normal culture, adding that he moves not only from North to
Southern Nigeria, but migrate even beyond the shores of Nigeria to
neighbouring countries, in search of food for his cattle.
He explained that his movement from North to South during the dry
season; and from South to North during the rainy season was dictated by
natural factors, such as rainfall and availability of grasses.
He explained that: “It our tradition to always move away from areas
that we spend some months during the rainy season. Otherwise, if we
continue to stay where we stayed during the rainy season, it would have
adverse effects on our cattle, because the cattle would by become used
to the place”.
He added that, “some of us are forced to move about, because there
are no grazing reserve areas for us. We always manage ourselves to be
moving about, in order to have our animals to give birth to young one”
he added.
Na’atta disclosed that he was with his animals around Nguru, in Yobe
State during the raining season migrated to Dutse area in Dutse Local
Government Area of Jigawa State as the season changed, while hoping to
move ahead in the nearest future.
Causes of clashes
There has been a sudden escalation in the number of clashes linked to
the headsman in various communities in the West, East and North-Central
Nigeria.
Abdullahi Dauda, the Kaduna based herdsman, told Saturday Sun that
these clashes were essentially fuelled by growing distrust and lack of
understanding of the ways of life of the Fulani herdsman by these
communities.
“There is always that suspicion between the farmer and the herdsman,
with each not knowing the life style of the other” he explained.
The Jigawa State Chairman of Mayetti Allah Cattle Breeding
Association of Nigeria( MACBAN), Alhaji Sa’idu Musa Gagarawa, in his
submission, blamed tribalism and ethnicity in Nigeria as a major cause
of the recent upswing in clashes between the herders and some
communities down south.
He insisted that the Fulani herdsmen were being treated with disdain
and disregard by members of these communities as a result of which they
have little or no option but to defend them selves in the face of
these hostilities.
“I want tell you that, today, the Fulani herdsmen are treated and
perceived as non -Nigerians by most of the people, particularly those
that are from the Southern part of the country” he stressed.
To end the unending spill of blood, he charged the Federal Government
to provide enough grazing land and water reserves for the herdsmen with
a view to discouraging his migration with their cattle to other areas.
He stressed that they, as a body, have commenced a program to educate
and enlighten the herders on the need to shun violence of any form and
with anybody or any community in the course of their pastoral journey
across the forest of Nigeria.
He added that the enlightenment program was designed to encourage the
herdsman to report anybody or any of their grievances to the nearest
security post instead of taking the laws into their hands.
Mallam Ardo Isuhyu Manya in Katsina State, who disclosed that they
live a spartan life in the forest with their cattle, emphasized the
need for the Federal Government to construct grazing reserves for the
herdsmen in their areas.
”The best bet out of this crisis is that a herdsman should avoid
farmlands since he knows that if he trespasses into the area, it will
generate trouble” he concluded.
National Public Relations Officer, Mayetti Allah Cattle Breeding
Association of Nigeria( MACBAN), Alhaji Ibrahim Ribeji stressed the
need for a national conference among stakeholders with a view to
finding a lasting solution to Fulani herdsmen/farmers clashes in
Nigeria. Asked why Fulani herdsmen are carrying guns, Ribeji remarked
that quite often their lives and that of their cattle were endangered in
the forest. “In most cases their cattle are stolen by rustlers and for
this, they need to protect themselves and defend their cattle” he
stated.
He believed that the clashes were avoidable and even unnecessary,
reflecting that, “If you trespass into a farm, and the owner did not
see you at that time, he prays to God to punish you for doing that to
him, he will say, Allah yayisa, (I leave you to God). It is possible
that if God answers the prayers, many bad things will follow you”
Throwing insight into the causes of some of the clashes, he explained
that “ Sometimes, if the herdsman misunderstands the farmer and the
farmers misunderstand the herdsman, a fight may ensue between them. In
the process of the fight, the Fulani herdsman will run to his people to
raise the alarm that a farmer had attacked him, and they will embark on
revenge, and that is how the conflicts often erupt between Fulani
herdsmen and farmers.
He advised that the farmers and the herdsman to see themselves as
partners in progress, adding that “there is no need to fight because
there is the season when the farmer needs the Fulani herdsman and there
is also the season when the Fulani herdsman needs the farmer.
“For instance, a farmer will always need cattle dung during the
farming season which he uses as manure for his crops while the Fulani
will need the wastes from harvest of farm produce as feeds for the
cattle. So, if there is this understanding, and if we understand it,
there would be no reason for conflict between the herdsman and the
farmers.”
SUN
Following
Teebillz’s public outburst yesterday on his marriage to Tiwa Savage,
the singer has come out in a bare it all interview with Pulse Tv where
she revealed some shocking details.
