•Nigerians warn that herdsmen’s invasion of communities is a ticking time bomb
(Tessy Igomu)
A trail of sorrow, tears and blood. That has been the recent regular trademark of itinerant herdsmen in many parts of the country. With unconcealed impunity, they invade communities, maiming everything in their path. From the South-West to the South-South, from the South-East to the North-Central zones of the country, it has been theatres of wanton killings as heavily armed herdsmen alleged to be of Fulani extraction unleash vicious attacks on helpless communities. After each deadly visit by the herdsmen, villages and farmlands become desolate and dead bodies line the narrow bush paths.
Daily reports of lives massacred send shock waves through the spines of millions of Nigerians. No week passes without a report in the media of fresh, vicious attacks allegedly carried out by Fulani militias on agrarian communities. Farmlands are not spared in the disheartening invasions.
Right now, there are fears of a confrontation between the herdsmen and the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), following allegations that the herdsmen kidnapped and murdered one of the OPC leaders in Akure. The victim, Ayodele Ige, was OPC coordinator in Akure and leader of the guards on Chief Olu Falae’s farm in Akure.
According to a December 2013 Human Rights Watch report, violence between Fulani and farmers in local communities had killed 3,000 people since 2010. From Abbi in Enugu State to Agatu in Benue, from the highlands of Plateau State to the hills and rocks of Ekiti State and other parts of the country, it has been a chronicle of gory and heart-rending assaults by the marauders.
Agatu communities in Benue State are yet to overcome the recent brutal attack on them by herdsmen. For years, the suspected Fulani herdsmen had engaged several villages in the area in an enduring battle over the destruction of the people’s farmlands by cattle. The confrontations took a deadly twist with renewed attacks on seven villages that left no fewer than 300 people dead and 700 villagers displaced in February.
Emboldened by their seeming free rein, the herdsmen, together with their cattle, have gone a notch further to occupy the communities, while the fleeing villagers are forced to take refuge in camps located in squalid, dingy school facilities that also serve as homes for mosquitoes, rodents and dangerous reptiles.
There appears to be no end in sight to the bloodshed and wanton destruction of property.
In February, gunmen believed to be Fulani herders killed a Divisional Police Officer (DPO) and 19 members of the public, even as they razed homes in Adamawa State in a spat over grazing rights.
Also in February, few weeks before the bloodbath in Agatu, herdsmen reportedly invaded communities in Buruku Local Government Area, leaving dozens dead and several buildings destroyed.
While the people of Benue were still counting their losses in human and material terms, the ugly attacks moved over to Enugu State. At the end of the violence reportedly unleashed by the herdsmen on Abbi community in Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area of the state, some members of the town lay dead and the people’s farms destroyed. It was reported that the armed men emerged from the bush to unleash mayhem on the people and burn their homes before fleeing into the bush.
Among the dead were a brother and a sister. They were reportedly slaughtered in cold blood, as they stood to defend their homes. Nineteen persons are still missing in the community.
In June 2014, Fulani herdsmen, allegedly armed with assault rifles, invaded more than 40 agrarian, sleepy communities in Ezeagu Local Government Area of Enugu State. The herdsmen allegedly destroyed farmlands, raped women and brutally snuffed life out of many with machetes and bullets. Huts also went up in flame and yam barns were razed. Those brave enough to return to the deserted villages are still apprehensive of possible fresh attacks by the herdsmen.
The sleepy town of Nkpologu community in Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area of Enugu State was last January thrown into mourning, following news of the death of a young woman on New Year’s eve. The tragedy reportedly occurred during a Fulani herdsmen’s robbery attack on a commuter bus.
In March 2015, suspected Fulani herdsmen allegedly killed Tamgbo Ogueji, a member of the traditional ruler’s cabinet at Eke community in Udi Local Government Area of Enugu State. The deceased, aged 85, was shot in his house in the early hours of the day over an undisclosed issue with the herdsmen.
In 2014, two men from the same community – Matthew Aniugo and Chiagha Chigbo – were also allegedly killed by Fulani herdsmen in their farms.
Also, early this year, two women were allegedly abducted by herdsmen while working on their farms in Ugwuleshi in Agwu Local Government Area of the state.
Of the 482 communities in the state, there is hardly any that has not had its fair share of the serial attacks. Indigenes of the communities have shocking stories of not only destruction of their farms, but also rape of their women in their farms.
In November 2015, no fewer than 22 persons, including women and children, were killed when suspected Fulani herdsmen attacked nine communities in Dekina Local Council of Kogi State.
The rampaging herdsmen were said to have gone on a killing spree across the rural communities, including Agojeju, Ikpoba, Ojeh, Ajomojayi, Ajadaji, Idochi, Ojiyanawo, Ulaja and Oganenigu. Scores are still alleged to be missing.
In Ijebu-Igbo, Ijebu North Local Government Area of Ogun State, six traditional rulers accused herdsmen of destroying their farmlands and raping their subjects. The traditional rulers regretted that the activities of the herdsmen had continued to pose serious threats to security in the area.
It is not just the weak and poor that have been victims of the attackers. Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Chief Olu Falae, was kidnapped by suspected Fulani herdsmen right on his farmland in Ilado, Akure North Council Area of Ondo State last year. 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. Efforts by the guards to prevent the destruction of the farmland were rebuffed. The herdsmen threatened the guards until their cows grazed to their satisfaction. In the latest invasion of Falae’s farm, one of the security guards was killed.
In Ondo State, farmers are still counting their losses after Fulani herdsmen laid siege to their farmlands. Ondo State Agricultural Commodities Association, which demanded N2 billion compensation from the Federal Government for the colossal loss suffered by owners of cocoa and oil palm plantations during the raid, regretted that the menace of the nomads had transcended grazing on crops 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, raised the alarm over the invasion and destruction of the institution’s farmlands by Fulani herdsmen.
In Zankan, Kaduna State, close to 50 people were killed, following an allegation that poisoning killed two cows 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.
According to government figures, repeated clashes have resulted in nearly 4,000 deaths since 1998.
International watchdogs like the New York-based Human Rights Watch, however, put the figures much higher.
Human Rights Watch reported that clashes in central Nigeria killed 3,000 people between 2010 and 2013, and that a further 1,000 were killed across five states within a five-month period between December 2013 and April 2014.
In 2015, the clashes became more frequent, with over 200 reported incidents, resulting in thousands of people displaced, destruction of property and farmlands, and the loss of cattle. The Nigeria Social Violence Dataset recorded 1,075 deaths in 2014 alone, a significant increase over the figures estimated in previous years. In 2013, there were 892 recorded deaths, while 323 died in such clashes in 2012.
Fulani herdsmen are traditionally nomadic, hence they are often seen moving about with their cattle in search of pasture. The place of Fulani herdsmen is inevitably important as they have sustained the production and sale of meat in markets across the country, thus, contributing their quota to the economy of the country. Despite this positive aspect of their engagement, many insist that their activities in recent times have left much to be desired.
Before the trend of violent clashes, a typical Fulani man was known for going about his business with a stick used to herd his cattle. Today, many allege that Fulani herdsmen move in platoons, armed with assault rifles, all covered with assorted amulets.
A councillor representing Apa Local Government Area of Benue State, Mr. Dickson Sunday, claimed: “When the herdsmen are coming, they come in large numbers and with sophisticated weapons. In fact, the weapons they are using, our Nigeria police cannot afford those kinds of weapons. When they are coming, they will be shooting sporadically, throwing tear-gas, burning down houses, and slaughtering people like animals.”
The gnawing fear of attack has come to stay with people in rural communities that have become hapless in the face of the senseless and incessant killings.
The problem between Fulani herdsmen and host communities has festered for long without any concrete action to address it. The deadly conflicts usually arise when the herdsmen invade farmlands with their cattle and let them graze unrestricted, both on cultivated and uncultivated land, thereby destroying valuable food and cash crops, which are the mainstay of the host communities.
The communities often resist the alleged desire of the Fulani herdsmen to have boundless access to grazing fields across country. And attempts to get the herdsmen to leave with their cattle usually lead to bloodshed and incalculable losses.
Many allege that the Fulani herdsmen operate with brutality and impunity. Yet others say the herdsmen have no respect for the human lives. Members of some of the attacked communities have also accused the police and other security agencies of failing to defend the victims while they were being mercilessly slaughtered in their homes.
For most communities in the country, the sight or mere thought of Fulani herdsmen evokes fear. Mutual suspicion has invariably taken the place of brotherhood, hospitability and communal living between the herdsmen and their host communities.
Some communities suspect that the herdsmen are militias on a mission to displace them and take over their land. For some commentators, the alleged involvement of the herdsmen in kidnapping, stealing, rape and killing has compounded an already dangerous security situation in the country. They insist that the activities of herdsmen across the length and breadth of the country have become another national emergency that should be given urgent federal attention.
Findings by various research organisations and think tanks show that nomadic herders have easy access to large volume of sophisticated weapons, many of which enter the country through mercenaries and transnational criminal networks spread across Africa.
A senior security official, who spoke anonymously, claimed that most of the Fulani gunmen were actually mercenaries from Niger and Chad, adding that apart from their cross-border criminal activities, many of them had prior battle experience in Sudan, Libya and recently, Mali.
Decrying the massacre in Agatu during a tour of the affected communities, former Senate President, David Mark, alleged that Fulani herdsmen killed 500 in the area. He described the attacks as barbaric, wicked and inhuman.
Also decrying another commando-like Fulani herdsmen killing in his domain, the traditional ruler of Ayede Oke-Agi Amuro in Mopamuro Local Government Area of Kogi State, Oba Matthew Obasa, claimed a former councillor in the area, Mr. Paul Oluwole, was murdered by the herdsmen on his way to his farm. Oluwole, he said, was shot and killed at close range by two herdsmen.
Obasa added: “This is not the first time the herdsmen would kill and maim people in the town and neighbouring communities on their farms for no just cause and in a war-like manner.
Another woman, who was returning home from farm with her baby on her back, was raped and had her hands and breast cut off. Our lives and the entire community are not safe with these evil men, as they go about with guns and other weapons. My people can no longer go about their farming activities because of the fear of being attacked by these deadly herdsmen. We are calling on government and all security agencies to come to our rescue in Mopamuro, as the situation has already gone out of hand.”
For the traditional ruler of Imeziowa community in Ezeaga, Enugu State, the continued invasion of communities in the area in a war-like manner was getting out of control. He added that his people were on the fringe of death and anarchy. He urged that security be beefed up in places prone to the attacks.
“I do not know what government has done or any action taken by security operatives to checkmate the insurgency of the Fulani herdsmen. These people, whom we thought carried only sticks and machetes, now carry AK47 rifles openly and we wonder where they got those guns. People no longer go to the farm anymore and everyone now lives in fear of these people. They come in and settle down as if it is their home and nobody is doing anything to stop them.”
Despite describing the herdsmen as aliens, the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase, according to social critics, has done nothing to address the distressing situation. They have also described as vague,the promise by the Minister of the Interior, General Abdulrahman Danbazzau, that he would have his ministry tackle the menace.
Some Nigerians have also expressed worry that President Muhammadu Buhari has allegedly failed to pay proper attention to the development in the farming communities.
Critics insist that government should urgently address the trend of unprovoked attacks and impunity reportedly displayed by the Fulani herdsmen before the issue spirals into an ethnic conflagration.
There is apprehension that with the bandits driving people out of their lands and occupying them with their cattle unchallenged by the nation’s security agencies, communities might be forced to take their destinies in their own hands and arm themselves to protect their lives and communities. Resort to self-help, they, however, warned, might not bode well for the unity and stability of the nation.
A public analyst and strategist, Diobu Ikem, urged the government to do more in the area of security and protection of lives and property, not only in the affected areas but also the entire country. The government, he insisted, must urgently summon the political will to forge a lasting solution to the clashes between Fulani herdsmen and farmers to prevent the issue from escalating into tribal wars and to avert further loss of lives and property.
Mr. Emmanuel Nwaghodoh, a staff attorney with Social and Economic Rights Centre (SERAC), a non-government organisation (NGO) that protects the social and economic rights of Nigerians, also described the clashes between the Fulani and farmers as another major threat to the peace and unity of the country.
He urged the Federal Ministry of Agriculture to designate grazing areas in some states, saying if the herdsmen migrate from the North to the South, they would just move straight to the designated grazing grounds and begin to raise their cattle there, instead of moving from one community to another and destroying crops.
However, the issue of grazing sites continues to divide herdsmen and farmers. Some communities say it is not possible to let the herdsmen traverse the country with their livestock oblivious of the fact that there are indigenous farmers whose crops could be destroyed by the animals. Others have also maintained that there are modern methods of rearing animals, including keeping the cattle in ranches and grazing reserves.
Ranching, they said, would not only eliminate migratory herding but would create jobs for the nomadic Fulani and their teeming offspring.
The need for the Federal Government to establish ranches for Fulani herdsmen by the Federal Government, according to the Benue State government, remains a panacea to ending the frequent clashes between herdsmen and farmers in the country.
The state governor, Samuel Ortom, said the establishment of ranches remained the best global practice in animal husbandry. He said the practice had ensured that there were no clashes between farmers and herders in countries that had embraced the practice.
On the issue of creating grazing areas for the herdsmen, the governor explained that it might be very difficult to achieve and almost impossible to convince any community to donate parcels of land for the purpose of creating grazing sites.
In April 2014, the immediate past Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina, said the Federal Government had adopted a policy of establishing a network of grazing reserves and routes for pastoralists. He said the country had 415 grazing reserves, but only a third of them were being used. He said most of the reserves had been built on or were being used for farming.
Akinwumi said only 141 of the reserves had been officially logged and less than 20 of them were suitable for use by pastoralists.
In 2009, the Federal Government embarked on a project put at 247 million US dollars to map out grazing reserves in Katsina, Bauchi and Abuja. Establishing the three reserves, which were meant to serve the needs of about 15 million pastoralists, involved demarcating 175,000 hectares of grazing land, building veterinary units and constructing settlements for nomads to use on their way through. Till this moment, nothing had been heard about the reserves.
The government also began the demarcation of a 1,400-kilometre livestock route from Sokoto State in the North West to Oyo State in the South West; and another 2,000-kilometre route from Adamawa State in the North East to Calabar. Besides the grazing routes, N10 billion was earmarked for the Great Green Wall Programme (GGWP), designed to help combat desertification, which is a major factor driving pastoralists from the far North to head South in search of better grazing.
Since nothing more has been heard about these projects, farmers appear not favourably disposed to the plans, as they have noted that grazing routes would mean less farmland and farm yields for predominantly farming communities. They fear that the measure might be used by the Fulani herdsmen to further take over the areas as grazing grounds and use the facilities as a base to unleash more terror.
President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered a probe by into the latest killings in Agatu. But while Nigerians noted that the probe might not be misplaced, they have maintain that what is expedient is a detailed national solution that would address all the issues in order to avert a looming crisis.
Critics have maintained that the onus now rests on President Buhari to live up to his oath and responsibility to protect Nigerians from external aggression and internal threats by addressing the herdsmen’s reign of terror before the land becomes more stained with blood.