- Fulani herdsmen unleashing terror across the land should be checked now
It has now become a regular occurrence. Fulani herdsmen take over farms, graze their cattle and thus provoke the farmers. In the process, many are killed and maimed. This is unacceptable.
Just last week, the herdsmen moved to Girei Local Government Area of Adamawa State and, in the process, engaged policemen in gun battle. The divisional police officer, Mr. Okozie Okereafor, attached to the Vunokilang Police Station, some of his men and about 60 villagers, were gunned down and houses razed. Also, in Kaduna, two policemen who dared confront the rampaging Fulani men met their untimely death.
It is time to check these audacious criminals who keep challenging the state without effective check by the security agencies. It is hard to imagine that, in the 21st century, a country like Nigeria could still encourage itinerant cattle rearers who continue to leave tales of woe in their trail. In the North Central, the clashes between these nomads and farm owners have continued to provoke communal strife.
In some cases, farmers enraged by the sheer audacity of the cattle rearers are known to have taken out their frustration on innocent Hausa-Fulani men who had settled in their areas for decades. It has led to dislocation of many, thus separating them from their means of livelihood.
In the East, the story is not different. It led to an attempt by the government of Imo State to force registration and identity cards for non-indigenes in the state, Although the measure provoked national outrage, the root cause ought not to have been overlooked. In many places in the South West the herdsmen are known to have beheaded farmers and harassed them out of their settlements. Only recently, kidnapping has been associated with them. In response, the Yoruba elders threatened, in the aftermath of the abduction of Chief Olu Falae, that any repeat could lead to the expulsion of nomads from the region.
We are miffed by the inaction of the Federal Government in spite of all these incidents. The suggestion that the government could map out grazing reserves for the herdsmen is laughable. The government has a pressing duty to come up with an effective policy that would rein in the criminals operating as cattle rearers. Unless this is done now, it could snowball to another social conflict beyond the capacity of the security agencies.
It is unfortunate that members of the murderous gangs are yet to be apprehended and prosecuted.
The Federal Government should engage critical stakeholders from all parts of the country in the bid to check this ugly development. The Afenifere and Oodua Peoples Congress in the Southwest that have spoken out on the despoliation of their territory by the marauding nomads, Nigerian farmers, state governments, including those of Anambra, Cross River, Imo, Abia, Plateau, Benue and the Arewa Consultative Forum should be invited to come up with ideas on what to do to arrest the trend.
We should learn from other countries modern methods of cattle grazing. It should be noted that leaving the sector entirely in the hands of illiterate nomads is an admission that we are not ready for developing the agricultural sector and promoting good social relations.
We also call on the Federal Government to do a general appraisal and overhaul of the security situation in the country. All criminals, starting with those in illegal possession of firearms should be served notice that the days of impunity are over. The police should be equipped to apprehend such offenders and diligently prosecute them.
