From Aloysius Attah, Onitsha
An Enugu Youth group, Concerned Igbo Eze North Youth (CINY), has expressed concern over the recent reported influx of Fulani herdsmen in Igbo Eze North LGA, Enugu State, citing growing fears among the local population.
The group noted that influx of herdsmen with large number of cattle at midnight had raised concerns in the affected areas about potential conflicts, given the history of violence and attacks in neighbouring communities.
In a bid to proactively address the threat, Chairman of Igbo-Eze North LGA, Mayor Michael Uchenna Ogalla, has established a committee for peaceful coexistence between farmers and herders led by a traditional ruler, Igwe Innocent Alachi. The committee’s key resolutions, which security agents have been tasked to enforce, include prohibition of grazing on farmland, restraint from taking the law into one’s hands, regardless of provocation, mandatory documentation of all herders in Igbo Eze North and strict ban on carrying unauthorized firearms.
However CINY in a statement yesterday, signed by its National President, Ambassador Kevin Chijioke ‘Chitex’ Eze and Elder Witness Ikemefuna, National Secretary, strongly condemned the decision to welcome Fulani herdsmen whom the group noted were carrying unauthorized firearms, ignoring the warnings.
“This move is particularly puzzling given the Idoma area traditional council’s recent decision to evict Fulani herdsmen due to escalating insecurity. Hon. Mayor Michael Uchenna Ogalla can draw a valuable lesson from the Idoma Traditional Council’s decisive action,” the group stated.
CINY reminded the LG Chairman, Hon. Ogalla that the present day Fulani herdsmen are different from those of the 1980s, who peacefully raised cattle with sticks.
The statement said: “Today’s herdsmen are often armed with AK-47 rifles and have been known to resort to violence over minor disputes. CINY views the current measures as weak and ineffective, amounting to a “soft landing” for herders without the necessary legislative teeth.
“The fear of Fulani herdsmen has become a wise caution, as the saying goes, ‘fear is the beginning of wisdom.’ The recurring bloodshed, rape, and farm destruction in neighboring communities like Lower Benue, Eha Amufu, Isi-Uzo, and Uzo-Uwani, all in Enugu North Senatorial Zone, validates the growing apprehension in Igbo-Eze North. As the adage warns, ‘those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.’”
CINY, therefore, demanded that more stringent measures should be applied to address the concerns of local communities.