The Invasion Of Fulani Herdsman's In Enugu

Ukpabi, Nimbo in Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area of Enugu State is the scene of the latest invasion. Armed with Ak-47 and M-16 assault rifles scores of Fulani herdsmen invaded the rustic community in defiance of the serene peace that pervades this rural community in the early hours of this morning. As men, women and children fled the battlefield, the eerie crack of gunfire signalled the determination of these marauders to inflict maximum casualties on this farming community. The new war has begun and many are oblivious to it. As the nation rejoices over the crushing of Boko Haram a new menace has emerged, the rampaging Fulani Herdsmen.

As El Nino and climate change rocks the globe extreme drought in the Northern extremities of Africa has triggered what many have. predicted...the Water Wars. Water is predicted to be the next instigator on global conflict as nations lose their dependence on oil and embrace the scarcity of water precipitated by climate change and hydro-electric dam construction. But in Nigeria this war has already started.

As extreme drought and marauding cattle rustlers/ Boko Haram drive the Fulani nomads from their designated habitat, their vengeance has been inflicted on the hapless farmers who stand in their way. The nation's handling of this new crisis has been pitiable and incoherent. The massacre at Agatu was the first salvo in this war and nothing was done to address the issue. Now the invasion of Enugu is ongoing with only a token detachment of Mobile Police sent to the baffle front.

Indeed this is laughable considering how out gunned the police are when their dane guns are compared to the AK47 and RPGs Fulani herdsmen wield. This is just a recipe for disaster and only an invitation to mutiny. This Mobile Police Unit will not stop these marauders, only battle hardened troops will. Now the agitation in certain quarters is to arm citizens that they may have the right to bare arms and defend themselves against such threats to security. This is a wrong call.

The proliferation of arms will have no end. For every AK47 one side buys the other will buy a tank. For every Tank, the other will buy Artillery howitzers. For every howitzer, napalm and sarin gas will be deployed. Very soon this new arms race will escalate to unforseen levels. The Government of the day should be the only authority on the battlefield who shall impartially restrict the proliferation of weapons.

The M-16 wielding Fulani herdsmen should be stripped of their automatic weapons and those responsible for the breakdown in law and order, arrested and tried. But there is another side to the coin. The Fulani Nomads have existed for centuries and this their way of life is threaten by various factors that must be addressed. Climate change. Land for forage is rapidly disappearing as El Nino strips the land of precious water and vegetation.

The Fulani are forced to venture further south in search of viable grasslands. Next is the aspect of bush burning. Having witness the proceedings of a fact finding committee, meeting over a farmers/herdsmen clash in Kiru/Madobi Kano, I learnt nothing enrages the Fulani more than bush burning. Bush burning however is the main means used by subsistent farmers to clear vast grasslands.

This destroys the environment and the delicate ecosystem of the farmlands. The shrubs and nettles the Fulani cows subsist on are destroyed hence the enraged Herdsmen see it as a deliberate ploy to deny them of their livilihood. That day in Kiru/Madobi a Pact was signed between the two parties and since then there has been peace.

Farmers and herdsmen can live peacefully side by side but the following measures must be instituted. Firstly grazing corridors should be mapped out. Many uninformed cyber heads have been hyperventilating over a bill in the National Assembly mapping out grazing corridors. Some see it as a ploy to take their ancestral land and give to the Fulani. Far from it.

The Fulani Nomads have no home. They and the Tuaregs of Libya and Tunisia are the great wanderers of our time who roam about for milliner oblivious of WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram. But grazing corridors will restrict their veering off course into farms and communities thus the security forces will be more inclined to act once they see straying nomads. Anyone who opposes grazing corridors should dream up an alternative for it is to foolery to think one can stop the Fulani from their mass migration from the North once the blazing heat of dry season commences.

Next is to end bush burning and embrace better farming methods. Most states invest billions in mechanized farming equipment which ends up rotting away in Local Government Secretariats as monuments of colossal waste. Why these devices are not put to task is a mystery only a clairvoyant can answer. Better farming practices will protect and preserve the environment and ensure shrubs are available for Fulani herdsmen.

The Fulani must be encouraged to return to their old ways for gone are the days when a herdsman will tie a goat or cow to a tree for a farmer whenever their cows unfortunately trespass into a farmer's field. Instead it is a hail of bullets that greets any protest following destroyed crops. The Fulani Nomads used to be a proud race which believed in chivalry, but Boko Haram and the proliferation of arms from failed states like Libya and Somalia has robbed them of their innocent staff of office, replacing it with M16s and AK47s.

I have heard some cyber heads asking that Sambisa Forest be cleared for Fulani Herdsmen to inhabit. That is the most silly suggestion ever. This will only put valuable resources within the reach of Boko Haram and other cross border bandits. Besides this area lies in the Sahel Savannah Region of Nigeria and its the nation's last defense against the expanding Sahara desert.

Destroy this anti-desertification defense and in a few decades the whole country will be engulfed by seas of sand. The Government of President Buhari needs to be more proactive. The violence instigated by these clashes can wreck his Presidency and unleash a new civil war that will make the Boko Haram terrorist threat look like child's play. The military must nip this violence in the bud immediately.

Tripartite agreements based on mutual respect should be brokered between warring parties. Only a truce can end this bloodshed. The eerie silence of the Presidency on how it intends to tackle this crisis is worrisome hence the latest invasion of Enugu state by Fulani Herdsmen should be the last straw that breaks the camel's back precipitating a robust response to end this crisis.

The whole world is watching for the spotlight is on President Muhammadu Buhari, a Fulani. Is he going to fold his arms and do nothing as a Janka weed army terrorizes the people of the South? Or is he going to check the excesses of this janjaweed army? Hopefully the later will prevail lest the impending war and disaster will be a tale few will have the stomach to tell. Usman Mohammed.

Department of Mass Communication,
IBB University, Lapai-Niger State
07060815443