The Herdsmen and the Rest of Nigeria

Posted on 25th January 2019 at 25th January 2019 by ayodelecaleb

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BY NIYI ABORISADE

THE 2018 witnessed the highest attacks of the Herdsmen and counter attack by the victims in response to the unprovoked attack by herdsmen.

In 2018, the death toll of herdsmen attacks in Benue, Taraba, Kaduna, Nasarawa, Plateau states were in thousands.

The problems and the danger of the Herdsmen has always been felt in the South with many farmers losing their means of livelihood and their lives.

Accepted, the herdsmen are nomadic by nature and they moved about Nigeria with their herds. Before Nigeria’s amalgamation, the herdsmen have been moving to the land of the Yorubas and in the 17th to 18th century during the reign of Alaafin Aole of Oyo and Yoruba Empire, a nomadic Hausa Fulani trader was given protection by the Alaafin and when he was robbed of his goods, the king ordered his goods to be restored to him even fighting his own chiefs to achieve the restoration but those were days when the visitors have respect for their hosts.

When Nigeria was amalgamated, the Nomadic movement of the herdsmen continued when Nigeria’s population was about 50 million, full of thick forests and thus there were sufficient water and leaves for their cattle without encroaching on farmlands of their neighbours. In those days, they were peaceful and carried no weapons but from 1950s problems started brewing between the Herdsmen from the North and the farmers in the South since an increment in the population meant that the forest is shrinking. That emerging problems forced the former Prime Minister, Western region, Late Chief Obafemi Awolowo to prescribe solution to the problems which will be discussed later. The Fulani herdsmen then became emboldened to carry firearms unchecked, even by the authority as their exclusive rights. Majority of our former leaders and the incumbent President, Muhammadu Buhari, are of Fulani extracts and himself a cattle herder. With this backdoor exclusive right of bearing firearms, the herdsmen became law unto themselves and like any other illegal powerful organizations as some of them started another lucrative enterprise of robbery and raping. Though, robbery and rape are not approved by their powerful association known as Myetti Allah which seems to have lost control of their members.

In the Year 2000, when Alhaji Lamidi Adesina was Governor of Oyo State, there was scuffle between the Nomadic of the North and the farmers of Oyo State in Saki when the Herdsmen attacked a woman and her daughter on their farm for having the audacity to complain over the destruction of her crops. The woman and her daughter were wounded in the scuffle that ensued.

The woman told her elders in the community of her predicament in the hands of the Herdsmen. The elders quickly organized a brigade of commando to defend their territory. The counter attack led to casualties on both sides but for the first time in history, the Herdsmen lost about 68 people in the unrest. They ran to their leaders in the North. A delegate was sent to the Governor, the delegates were led by a former Military Head of State, General Muhammad Buhari (retd) who is now the incumbent Executive President, former administrator of Lagos State, General Buba Marwa, Director General Stock Exchange, Alhaji Aliko Mohammed among others. It was an intimidating squad which was well received by the Governor of Oyo State who provided credible evidence of the excesses of the Herdsmen. When the super delegates were confronted with the evidence they remained silent with heads bow and it was reported that Governor Lam Adesina told them that as an Elder Statesmen, they should represent the whole country and not a section of the country.

Since then the Herdsmen have been attacking the middle belt and some part of the North and to some degree they have been listed as a terrorist group in some quarters, although the Federal Government refused to label them so.

To move forward and for the progress of the country, Chief Obafemi Awolowo offered solution in his article published by the Nigerian Tribune in 1953. The article did not only provided solution but also provided employment opportunities as well in the Northern Nigeria.

Chief Awolowo proposed that the Herdsmen also known as cattle rearers should remain in the North and within ranches they own. Apparently their cows are normally sold in the South and therefore the abattoirs should be established in the North where cows would be killed overnight and the government should procure refrigerated railway coaches which would bring the beef to the South and arrive in the early hours of the morning to be delivered to abattoirs still fresh.

“With this backdoor exclusive right of bearing firearms, the herdsmen became law unto themselves “

He further stated that all parts of the cow unused or not fit for consumption can be used for industrial purposes. He therefore suggested that the establishment of factories where the skin of cows can be used to make shoes, leather bags, etc, and where the bones and hoff can be used to make soaps. Even the blood can be collected and used for various purposes in Industrial quantities.

No doubt the above suggestions by the late sage are still relevant today as they were in 1953 particularly when our population has increased and deforestation has set in. The need to understand the situation with this kind of pragmatic approach was why Awolowo was described as the best President Nigeria never had.

The suggestion by the current President, Muhammad Buhari to establish colonies all over Nigeria for the Fulani herdsmen will compound and exacerbate the problem more than envisaged. Even the fragile peace that we are enjoying will disappear and lead to full scale war since the plan appears to even have hidden agenda as the people rightly believe.

The situation where some selected few individuals, group of people from some sections of the country are allowed to bear arms is not in the best interest of the country and the president should announce the disarmament of the Herdsmen. Doing so will restore t the confidence of the citizens of this country and will promote peace and harmony in Nigeria. The government can further assist the Herdsmen in building ranches in the North by way of loans that will be paid back.

The farmers in other parts of the country also deserve protection from the Herdsmen as all citizens are equal.

If our country will ever develop and achieve both economic and political breakthrough, the leadership of this country should be courageous to solve known and long age problems in the society. There is no how the leadership will be pretending as if some problems are natural and should be left alone to rage on while the country suffers almost every other time, drawing back little progress we made at some time.

It is time for Nigerian leadership to tackle this herdsmen/farmers crisis once and for all, so that the entire country can move on without having to experience the imbroglio in whatever capacity again.