A concatenation of events has these days put the nation on a cliff-hanger. Apart from just smarting from the havoc wrecked in some northern parts by the Boko Haram insurgents, ethnic nationalities have lately gone hysteria, asking for one form of self-determination or the other.
But of great worry is an avoidable gale of mortal attacks reportedly coming from itinerant herdsmen, who are predominantly of Fulani extraction. What started as pockets of clashes between visiting Fulani herdsmen and their native hosts about five years ago, has now degenerated into full-scale fight-to-the-finish between the parties, with the latter accusing the herdsmen of sheer belligerence.
The media had been awash with various reports of the peregrinating herdsmen encroaching on farmlands in some southern states, apparently in search of pasture from which their cattle could feed. In going about this, they were meeting with disapproval and complaints from the local farmers, thus setting the stage for frequent clashes.
In dire cases, reports had it that the herdsmen, fully armed with guns, daggers, knives and other dangerous weapons, launched attacks on the ill-equipped local farmers, leaving in their trail, high casualties.
Wrenched sore, many of the farmers have had to cry out to appropriate authorities, citing the decimation of their population and the despoliation of their crops, being their means of livelihood.
The point should be particularly driven home with examples of cattle ranches in the western world, where cattle reared in ranches and supplied with feeds and other nutrients are healthy and fattened, as against their itinerant peers here in Nigeria, that are mostly gaunt, weak and susceptible to diseases
The situation, in August last year, came to a head when in Enugu State, the herdsmen reportedly clashed with the locals and killed many people, including a Catholic priest; an incident which caused so much outrage that the state government had to take far-reaching decisions.
As for those in the southern part of Kaduna State, frequent clashes between the herdsmen and the local farmers have become a recurring decimal, which tasked both the federal the state governments, and more so, the various security agencies.
In Ekiti, Governor Ayodele Fayose said he was having a running battle curtailing the excesses of pesky herdsmen, who had perpetrated heinous crimes in the name of grazing.
The situation too in Benue State is sad and patently sobering. The state governor, Samuel Ortom, while receiving a United Nations representative last week, said over 1,800 people in his state had died as a result of frequent clashes between the Fulani herdsmen and local farmers.
Though Ortom recently signed into law an anti-grazing law in the state, there are tell-tale signs that the problem is really beyond the control of the governor. Like him, Fayose in Ekiti, and political leaders in Edo State had initiated bills to outlaw grazing and force the Fulani herdsmen to set up cattle ranches.
The bills envisioned that any band of herdsmen in the respective states should be able to set up ranches for their cattle and thus put a stop to cases of encroachment on farmlands, which had often ended in bloody clashes.
In the Benue case, the anti-grazing bill had been signed into law, yet it would seem that the state government was still finding it hard to implement. This is not surprising really, as in Nigeria’s mode of federalism, federal laws are more binding on issues that are ethnic-sensitive, than state laws.
Thus, however novel the moves by the states appear to be, it is our considered opinion that without a deliberate action from the Federal Government to forbid open grazing and confine all itinerant herdsmen to established ranches, the country’s security fortune would further recede to the potentially fractious problems associated with loose exposure of cattle to the streets and farms.
This much was contained in the report of the National Conference convened by the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, which preferred the establishment of cattle ranches, as against the crude habit of herding cattle around the country and causing commotions.
In implementing this, however, the Federal Government must carry along all stakeholders in the livestock sub-sector of the agricultural sector. Leaders of the Fulani herdsmen should be made to see the advantages in retreating to tranches to ensure close monitoring of their livestock.
The point should be particularly driven home with examples of cattle ranches in the western world, where cattle reared in ranches and supplied with feeds and other nutrients are healthy and fattened, as against their itinerant peers here in Nigeria, that are mostly gaunt, weak and susceptible to diseases, following long trekking, poor feeding and bare healthcare.
For these herdsmen to be fully convinced of government’s sincerity, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture should firm up policies for the supply of pasture and other nutritious feeds to their cattle with the enlistment of veterinarians, to ensure proper healthcare for the animals.
A holistic approach at the federal level in tackling the herdsmen problem, certainly, will be more assuring and effective as against states’ anti-grazing laws that appear splintered in intents and purposes and can, in most cases, elicit suspicions that won’t be helpful to Nigeria’s much-desired cohesion.
A pragmatic move is needed at a time like this, from the Federal Government, to save human lives being daily wasted as a result of needless frequent clashes, which simple intelligence can forever prevent.
