It seems some of the pressing security challenges in the country can be resolved by applying home-grown solutions. In the light of inaction of the Federal Government, Governor Ayodele Fayose has taken a giant step to rid Ekiti State of the violent campaign of Fulani herdsmen, by outlawing grazing in some parts of the state. The new law, the first of its kind in Nigeria, stipulates the time for grazing. Anybody that violates it risks a six-month jail term without an option of a fine. This is a bold step towards curbing the murderous tendencies of the cattle herders.
Essentially, the “Prohibition of Cattle and Other Ruminants Grazing in Ekiti, 2016” law aims at checking the incessant attacks on farmers, destruction of farmlands and killings in the state. It restricts grazing to some parts of the state. It bans night cattle rearing, making it legal to only herd openly between 7am and 6pm daily. In conjunction with the local councils, the state government has said that it would provide grazing land for herdsmen, which they would purchase from land owners. This is sensible.
The state began working on the law in April when Fulani herdsmen slaughtered two people in Oke-Ako, an agrarian community in Ikole Local Government Area of the state. The law, which also outlaws herdsmen carrying weapons while grazing, is perceptive. Fulani herdsmen have terrorised many Middle Belt and Southern Nigerian communities, using sophisticated weapons. Last week, the police arrested a herdsman, Ibrahim Adamumale, with an AK 47 rifle and 20 rounds of live ammunition in Udi LGA of Enugu State.
Open herding, an obsolete practice by nomadic Fulani herdsmen, has been a contentious subject in Nigeria. In what seems like systematic genocide, herdsmen have wreaked havoc on many parts of the country. In April, when they attacked Ukpabi Nimbo, Enugu State, they killed 20 residents, injured others and obliterated the community by setting fire to many houses.
Oddly, the Federal Government has turned a blind eye to the wanton killings. As a result, herdsmen returned to Attakwu, Nkanu West LGA of Enugu State in August, where they killed a Catholic seminarian. One of those injured in the attack died later in the hospital. Nobody – including the Fulani – has a right to take life, or trample on other people’s property in the name of cattle rearing. And, what makes cows more important than yam or any other agricultural product? In its characteristic aloofness, the National Assembly has also shied away from this enigma. This is why Fayose and the Ekiti State House of Assembly deserve commendation. They have acted wisely by moving to protect lives and property from the marauders.
But the continuing attacks in Enugu pale in comparison to the ones in Benue State, which are nothing but a sustained pogrom. In February, the herders massacred over 500 people in Agatu LGA, sacking several villages. In spite of the outcry, the Federal Government did practically nothing. The carnage by Fulani herdsmen has also spanned Plateau, Taraba, Adamawa, Delta, Abia, Ondo, Edo, Oyo, Ogun and Osun states. To confirm how dangerous they have been to national security, an Australian think tank, the Global Terrorism Index, named them as the fourth deadliest terror group in the world behind Boko Haram, the Islamic State and al-Shabaab. According to the GTI, the Fulani herdsmen killed 80 people in 2013, but by 2014, the figure had jumped to 1,229. This is scary.
Yet, cattle rearing is a legitimate part of the economy. The North-East-to-Lagos cattle market is put at N324 billion annually. With 19 million heads of cattle, Nigeria has the potential to produce enough beef for domestic consumption and for export. But it cannot expand the industry without modern methods. India, Brazil and Australia, the three leading global beef exporters, operate cattle ranching to maximise their operations and reduce the friction with other associated businesses. The United States, according to its Department of Agriculture, exported dairy worth $653.6 million a month in 2014. In the same year, farm gate receipts for cattle and calves were estimated at $88.25 billion.
Therefore, our lethargic Federal Government should stop paying lip service to ending the recklessness of cattle herders. They should be made to conduct their business on cattle ranches. Open herding is crude. It generates too much destruction, and is a source of constant friction between herders and host communities. With ranching, however, cattle production increases, and generates more income for livestock farmers. Landowners and farmers will also have some respite to farm without disruption to their crops. Ranching will enhance security and curb cattle rustling.
On this score, migratory herding of cattle should be outlawed in every part of Nigeria as a way of cutting out the atrocities of livestock farmers. With the Ekiti example, other states experiencing Fulani herdsmen atrocities should take a leaf out of Equity’s book. They should stop running to Abuja to beg for help that has not been forthcoming whenever the herdsmen attack their communities. They can also improve on the provisions of the law, strengthening it for the benefit of their citizens.
