Clashes between Fulani herdsmen and farmers in various parts of the country have become alarming. They now constitute a grave threat to national peace and security. To pretend otherwise will amount to self-deception. No week passes without an incident. Each incident joins a long list of hundreds of similar ones. Even after the sensational kidnapping and release of the former Secretary to the Federal Government, Chief Olu Falae, a few weeks ago, several fresh incidents have occurred in Benue and Plateau states.
Although the Association of Fulani herdsmen has denied responsibility for Falae’s abduction, killings of people in farming communities by herdsmen are not exactly new in the country. The problem is traceable to the herdsmen’s practice of grazing their cattle in farms along their grazing routes without the consent of farm owners. This activity, which often leads to destruction of farm products, is nothing but criminal trespass.
The provisions of the Nigerian Constitution and the African Charter of Rights on freedom of movement should not be construed as a licence for herdsmen or any other group of people to trespass on the property of other persons, or to wreck their sources of living. Citing these documents in defence of trespass on farming communities is disrespectful of the feelings of aggrieved farmers.
We believe that the escalation of herdsmen/farmers’ clashes is a result of the failure of the Federal Government, past and present, to address the problem. The primary responsibility of the government is the protection of life and property. A situation in which hundreds of persons are massacred during clashes between herdsmen and farmers without the government doing anything decisive to stop is not merely an abdication of responsibility, it is a tacit invitation to chaos. It is also creates room for global attention and intervention. International humanitarian law forbids massacres of a people by any group under any pretext.
Some reports have put the number of persons killed during farmers and herdsmen’s clashes between January and July 2015 at 761. The failure to prosecute those responsible for such killings is prima facie evidence in the international community that the victims can no longer count on Nigeria’s judicial system to protect them, and would therefore need concerted international protection. In other words, the mindless killings qualify to attract international intervention, including investigations by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Going forward, we think the time has come for herdsmen to develop ranches for their cattle. This is long overdue. They have every right to make a living but it should not be by destroying other people’s means of livelihood. Herdsmen are in business to thrive and prosper. So are farmers. Farmers do not owe herdsmen a living and ought not to be expected to sacrifice their crops to feed the cows of herdsmen.
The Federal Government should urgently outlaw uncontrolled grazing across state borders. It should assist the nomadic herdsmen to set up ranches to take care of the needs of their cattle. Nomadic cattle rearing should either cease or be confined to the states which have a nomadic culture. It should not be imposed on parts of the country which do not have that culture.
Considering what has been happening in the country in the past five years, Nigeria must quickly find an alternative to nomadic cattle rearing. Failure to do this will continue to fuel crisis which will do great harm to the country. It will detract from rather than build on our efforts at national unity.
Although the Falae affair mostly generated protests in the South West region, those concerns are shared across the entire Southern regions and the North Central. Setting up ranches cannot be such a herculean task considering the fact that many ranches are already in existence all over the country. Besides, the country has a good number of universities of agriculture with abundant manpower and expertise to help set up ranches.
The problem of itinerant herdsmen is a ticking time bomb. Ignoring it or treating it with levity will be at a great risk to the country. Let the government give this issue the urgent attention it deserves to ensure peace, order and fraternal relationship between farmers and Fulani herdsmen in the country.
