In the last four decades,
it was a common thing to see some fair-looking acquiline-structured males traverse communities in the southern and eastern part of Nigeria. Anxieties about the identities of these people revealed that they were herdsmen from Fulani. One common characteristic of this folk then, was their harmless posture as they stopped by some willing homes to ask for just a little to fill their bowels and continued their business of searching for graze land that probably knew no defined destination. Oh yes! With their bows and arrows stucked to their sides, they gently tended their flocks to the amazement of on lookers. Those were the Fulani herdsmen of my childhood era.
But what exactly transpired with the passage of time keeps me wondering if the Fulani herdsmen of the present generation have any bearing with the Fulani herdsmen of my childhood era. Sometimes, I am persuaded to conclude that these are mere impostors of Fulani herdsmen otherwise, why the sudden deviation from their hitherto humane, humble attributes which they were known for?
Of late, news about the nefarious activities of Fulani herdsmen across communities in different parts of Nigeria have become recurrent in the media from the north to the south and down to the east, it is the same story. Recently, one of the local tabloids reported about how women from Ubima, a community in Rivers State, were assaulted by this group of men. The recent killings in Oghara, Delta State, are only a statistic as many of such crime had been perpetrated in many communities in Delta State by the gregarious herdsmen who have also gained notoriety for trespassing, armed robbery, indiscriminate bush burning and rape.
Like the proverbial road dancer whose drummer hides in the bush, these so-called Fulani herdsmen now operate with impunity as though there is an obvious “backbone” at the sideline. Their excesses became a concern when some of them recently invaded some communities in Benue State, killing many and displacing thousands. Statistically, 64 communities including that of the Governor of Benue State, Gabriel Suswam were sacked by the rampaging herdsmen. As if that was not enough, the herdsmen also attacked and engaged the convoy of the Governor Suswam in a gun battle that reportedly lasted for an hour.
Increasing with each passing day, the magnitude of such attacks, is often associated with terrorist aggression and have been experienced in states like Benue, Nassarawa, Plateau, Taraba, Kaduna, Adamawa, Zamfara, Oyo, Imo, Cross River, Enugu, Rivers, Delta among others.
At a time when the country is battling to contain the menace of the insurgents, the scourge of these nomadic Fulani herdsmen will only heighten insecurity and tension instead of resolving whatever grievances that may have stimulated such actions. The consequences include loss of lives and property of innocent citizens and increase in apprehension on the questions of security in Nigeria. They also pose a serious threat to government’s commitments to peace building, sustainable democracy and political stability in the country.
It is not in doubt that irrespective of their motivations, these dastardly acts only constitute setback to the pursuit of unity, peace and development, as a government that is always rebuilding, can never ever develop in the same pace with others who only build and don’t experience destruction of structures.
I am beginning to see the scourge of Fulani herdsmen as one that bears the imprints of terrorist incursion. For me, the only difference between the Boko Haram insurgents and these Fulani herdsmen is in the sophistication of the weapons used by the former, otherwise, they are simply “two of a kind”.
However, while the Boko Haram insurgents remained faceless, the Fulani herdsmen can be identified. Therefore, given the dimension which their activities have assumed, it has become imperative for the government to reconsider the usual approach with which it had addressed matters of this group.
Much as we know that the right of one stops at the point where the right of another begins, these herdsmen must be told that the offence of trespass is punishable under the law of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, so, in the process of grazing they must avoid people’s cultivated portions.
I think that is not asking for too much. In the first place, no cultivated land remains lively after playing host to a herd of animals especially cows. Therefore, since there is no provision for compensation for damaged farmlands, the herdsmen must be humane enough to also consider the interest of crop farmers who may not have any other source of livelihood to fall back on in the event of the destruction of their already cultivated farms.
Secondly, in as much as the animals must eat, it has become necessary for the government to designate certain areas as “graze land” as well as ensure that no other place is diverted for such purpose.
The activities of the Fulani herdsmen is gradually taking a crisis dimension, if not checked, it could metamorphose into full blown terrorism. It may not be out of place to suspect terrorists posing as herdsmen to gain easy access to perpetrate their evil stock-in-trade. We must decide to distinguish the gunmen from the herdsmen now, or live to be victims of terrorists invasion.

Sylvia ThankGod-Amadi