A look at the menacing activities of some Fulani Herdsmen across Nigeria, with the slaughter of members of their host communities; the root cause of the problem, the motivation, and the need for the Buhari administration to urgently proffer solutions, working with the various communities
By Omeiza Balogun
I remember back in my secondary school days when our literature teacher – a certain Mr. Okafor- recounted the experience he had with some Fulani herdsmen on his way to the northern part of the country.
He explained that during the encounter, he was treated to a delicious Suya meal, spiced with pepper sauce that left wonderful flavor on his taste buds whenever he reminisced on the experience.
As a young boy then, Mr. Okafor’s experience was what we all craved for, especially with the Suya meal and I will never forget how we savored it; while also debating whether Mr. Okafor’s experience was real or a mere fantasy.
But fantasy or not, those were indeed very interesting times. Times when religious or tribal suspicion was not part of our daily living; where Fulani herdsmen known for their bow and arrow, freely transversed the length and breadth of this country without any mutual fears either from them, or their host communities.
What has happened that in recent times, news and images emanating from the normal loving and peaceful pastoral show the negative?
This same question pricked my curiosity to embark on a fact finding mission on a trail of Fulani herdsmen in Edo state.
The Blame Game
As common with our modern day media practitioners using their medium to either advance religious, ethnic or sectional bias, it would not be out of place to see, read or hear everybody blaming everyone on who or what led to the crisis or the motive behind it.
This is further fueled by the free-for-all journalism through the social media. It was to avoid the above that I sought to have an interaction with some herdsmen as part of continued effort towards building conflict resolution and peace module.
My first point of call was the Abudu Cattle Market, Edo State, where the Sarkin Hausawa of the Market, Alhaji Sule Abdulahi took me on a journey to meet other herdsmen and interview them. I have summarized the interviews below.
In the course of our discussion Alhaji Sule Abdulahi, noted that there was no denying the fact that there are people bent on using the pastoral lifestyle of the average Fulani people to achieve whatever evil plot they have.
He decried the present situation stating that it was gradually making mockery of the goodwill they enjoy in their host communities.
“There is no logical thinking Fulani herdsman who would resort to violence especially when we are guided by a belief, called Pulaaku. For us Pulaaku is held in high esteem. Thus, every Fulani understands that they should be fair to all humans,’’ he said.
He explained that Pulaaku is a code of conduct that guides the day to day life of the Fulanis.
Alhaji Abdulahi maintained that there were four kinds of modern Fulani herdsmen: the younger generations of Fulani who do not have the patience of the traditional lifestyle of an average Fulani person, those who rustle cows for a living, those who use the cover of being herdsmen for political violence, and those who were humble, honest and nonviolent herdsmen in search of livelihood like every other Nigerian.
Corroborating Alhaji Abdulahi’s position, another herdsman, Usman Galadima who during the interview was en-route to the eastern part of the country noted that every society had unscrupulous persons bent on using the current political landscape in the country to cause mayhem.
He stated that from childhood he had been in the business of taking herds from the north to other parts of the country without confrontation with farmers.
On his part, Utman Haruna while expressing disappointment over the trend advised government at all levels to as a matter of urgency address the issues so that they could live in peace to carry out their businesses.
When I sought to know their effort towards bringing the act to an end, they noted that they have been working in partnership with communities on their route and always report suspicious persons to security agencies.
The herdsmen unanimously agreed that the matter has assumed a dangerous dimension and called on government and other stakeholders to intervene for peace to reign.
The Conspiracy Theory
Denying or rejecting the current surge perpetrated by these daring herdsmen would be to deny their victims the much needed answers to the circumstances resulting in their deaths.
But the question would be – do these sets of herdsmen fit into Mr. Okafor’s description or the fourth as analyzed by Alhaji Abdulahi? The answer is a definite NO. Thus, out there, exists daring, hardened criminals under the cover of shepherding to perpetrate these evil.
And we must also understand that their victims are not only farmers in Benue, Nassarawa, Edo or the innocent communities in Enugu State, but that they spread all over the country; both north and south.
Thus the continued blame game between the ‘us’ that are not herdsmen and ‘them’ that are not farmers (remember that there is also religious empathy to the issue) will only water the root course of the crisis.
Like Boko Haram, who were said to have been a creation of some political interpretations or sectional interest took from us – human and natural – a large percentage of what would have today been a giant stride in national development.
Confronting the Surge – The Abudu’s Experience
Abudu community in Edo State serves as a gate-route between the Northern and southern parts of the country for herdsmen. According to Alhaji Abdulahi, the farmers and herdsmen in the community have in the past had their fair share of misunderstandings that required the intervention of traditional institutions and security agencies.
He noted that such had never resulted to the current surge in attacks being experienced. Alhaji Abdulahi pointed out that with the understanding that both are partners in progress, a conscious effort was made in building collaboration with security agencies to report any suspicious movement to them.
Either good or bad, at every juncture of a people’s development, the leaders will have to take credit for whatever result was gotten. Hence the need for the Federal Government under the leadership of President Muhammed Buhari to approach the issue with all sincerity so as not to make room for the current conspiracy theories being bantered across board.
It would interest the reader to know that like the normal express way or flight route, the herdsmen too have their routes and according to them no honest herdsman would deliberately veer off the routes into a farm.
Likewise a farmer who knows very well that a cow is a domestic animal not game, should not on finding one wandering in the bush, deliberately kill it, thereby depriving the owner of his livelihood.
Government should also begin a process of educating both farmers and herdsmen on the need to see the threat as an act of criminality and not the current religious, sectional or ethnic sentiments currently being projected.
The government should act now to avoid placing Mr. Okafor’s herdsmen at arm’s length and to avoid reprisals or pre-emptive attacks.
My journey continues.
Omeiza Balogun is a journalist who lives in Benin
