Point Blank 3rd edition

Checkmating Fulani herdsmen
|By Success Kanayo Uchime

The clandestine activities of the Fulani herdsmen have got to a crescendo. Farmers in community after community leave tales of agonies and frustrations with their unending complaints.
     The herdsmen have done more good than harm; by causing intense havoc to lives and farmlands anywhere they register their presence. It has been one outcry after the other, and the questions are, when will this come to an end? Who will deliver farmers and their various communities from the hands of these almighty lords?
     The thing is that the herdsmen seem to be untouchables; they have become “gods” of a sort, to the extent that their fear has become the beginning of wisdom. It has become like the case of the biblical Goliath and David. The question is then, who is the David that will be able to confront the almighty Goliath? Who will dare speak up?
     Their activities can be likened to the old adage, “robbing Peter to pay Paul.” I strongly believe that this is the time the government at all levels will speak out. Let a spade be called a spade for goodness sake!
    Our farmers are losing their lives and farmlands on daily bases, while the Fulani herdsmen are gaining their cattle. Who then is fooling who? Why must Peter be robbed to pay Paul? It does not and cannot work that way anymore.
     I believe we are running a civilized society, where there is supposed to be peace and harmony. Where we all are supposed to coexist and hibernate together in an atmosphere of brotherliness. Why is it then that these herdsmen have decided to make themselves lords and semi-god, in a country where everyone is required to express his or right fundamental human rights? This is very pathetic putting into consideration the level of destruction of life and property this group of people had been engaged in.
     I believe there is no community in Nigeria that has not grievously suffered in the hands of the Fulani herdsmen, and the irony of it all is that the government at all levels is not taking proactive steps to forestall or checkmate these herdsmen. Do they want to wait until the people are destroyed before concrete actions are taken to save the souls of innocent Nigerians?
     It is believed that clashes between herdsmen and host communities have been at the forefront of the 19th and 20th century Nigeria, and that so many communities have been left shattered and devastated. It is to be observed that before now, most of the conflicts between the herdsmen and their host communities usually occured in the North-Central and North-Eastern parts of the country.
     But just recently, the “battle-field” has shifted downwards to the South-East and South-West parts of the country, and cases of the inordinate conducts of the herdsmen have continued to increase unchecked. They have left thousands, if not millions, either homeless or dead. Women have been said to be raped and killed by the herdsmen. A very pathetic incident was reported in one of the communities in the South-East where a herdsman overpowered a woman, “butchered” her to death and collected the woman’s child, said to be the child she gave birth to, for the herdsman. These are very unfortunate to say the least. 
     Just recently, the Ugbene community in Awka North local council, Anambra state received what one may term “new year gift.” The people woke up that faithful morning to see their over 75 hectares of rice-farm go in flame. The two villages involved in this dilemma - Umualor and Umuagunwoke can never forget this incident all their lives. Imagine losing over N20 million of their hard-earned investment in a twinkling of a eye for no justifiable reason.
     The community alleged that the herdsmen’s action was as a result of the lingering feud between them, occasioned by the herdsmen trespass to their land. Their resistance drew the irk of the herdsmen, who in turn brandished assorted weapons of war on the innocent community.
     The questions are these, who pays for the malicious damages done to the farmland? What efforts have been made to arrest and bring the culprits to justice? It pains me that no one is talking to the Ugbene community at this their time of “mourning” and grief. The Awka North Chairman must speak up now! 
     The case of the Ugbene people is just a pinch of the cake, considering other havoc caused by the herdsmen in other parts of the country. In Eke community in Udi local council, Enugu State, suspected Fulani herdsmen killed one Chief Tamgbo Ogueji, 85, a member of the traditional ruler’s cabinet. He was said to be shot in his house in the early hours over an undisclosed issue. In the same community, the herdsmen had in the past killed two young men, Matthew Aniugo and Chiagha Chigbo, in their farms. This is very worrisome to say the least!
     It was recently reported that the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of Lagos State Police Command quizzed two Fulani herdsmen, Mohammed Musa and Manu Hassan over alleged armed robbery. It was learnt that their favorite area of operation was the Oghere area of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. The gang was said to be fond of blocking the highways, armed with dangerous weapons, robbing unsuspecting motorists and passengers.
     What of the recent news of the kidnapping of the former Secretary to the Federal Government, Chief Olu Falae on 21 September, 2015. The Fulani herdsmen were fingered as the masterminds of the dastardly act.  This singular act prompted the Yoruba socio-cultural organization, Afenifere, to issue an ultimatum to the Fulanis in the South-West to forthwith vacate the region.
      These clandestine activities of these people made the General Secretary, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Rev. Musa Asake to describe the activities of the herdsmen as mercenary and arm robbery. This was part of their communiqué at the end of their National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Abuja.
      The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, and the Ewi of Ado Ekiti, Oba Rufus Adejugbe, had at different fora recommended that a ban should be placed on the activities of night grazing by Fulani herdsmen in Ekiti state. This is in an effort to forestall the unwanted killing of innocent Nigerians by the herdsmen.
       It is said that most communities in the South-East have tactically made the herdsmen to vacate their various communities. This, they have successfully done by denying them grazing lands, as they believe that the moment you give the herdsmen one step, they will match the second.
      We cannot afford to seat and watch fellow Nigerians die unjustly. This is the time for the government to be proactive in their approach to this issue of the herdsmen and the host communities. Decisive steps must be taken now. As my people would ask proverbially, is it not someone that owns the cloth goat is eating? Let us act now while the sun is still shining, because when the darkness comes, which is sure to come, taking actions will definitely not be feasible. Here I rest my case. Thanks and God bless!