By Kassim Omomia, Olusegun Olanrewaju, Andy Asemota, Ben Ogbemudia, Israel Joel and Shehu Musa, Babs Oyetoro, Francis Ajuonuma
It is a season of verbal warfare as some state governors have climbed down from their executive seats into the controversy of herders-farmers’ crisis currently rocking the nation.
They are literally belching smoke from their nostrils as they trade tackles.
Governor of Bauchi State, Bala Mohammed, is angry with Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State; while Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State is up in arms against his Kaduna State counterpart, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai.
And it does seem that there is no end in sight yet, as the herders-farmers’ imbroglio continues to escalate, with prominent citizens like Nobel Laureate, Prof Wole Soyinka, calling on President Muhammadu Buhari to check the activities of the rampaging killer-herdsmen or the nation risks a second civil war.
Gov. Ortom fired the first salvo, when he demanded urgent action to stem the herders’ menace.
Ortom said, “Mr. President, this call for justice is the heart cry of every patriotic Nigerian. It is not a call against the Fulani race or any other ethnic group, but a call to make Nigeria work in line with the oath of office we took as leaders and your pledge to be a president for all Nigerians and to be for everybody and for nobody. Unfortunately, you seem to be tilting towards the Fulani at the expense of other nationalists.
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“I am imploring you once again to rise to the challenges of these times to avert the country’s drift to anarchy and disintegration, a situation that sycophants and praise-singers might be unwittingly shielding from you. In 2015, Nigerians enthusiastically welcomed your return as a leader with a reputation for uprightness, fair-mindedness and integrity. The current situation is raising doubts in the minds of Nigerians who had believed you. Mr. President, your compatriots are looking up to you to act fast to redress the situation”.
At the height of the several clashes between farmers and herders resulting in loss of lives, destruction of property and the displacement of hundreds of people, Ortom had also written to the president, raising concerns about the security challenges in the state. The state had also promulgated the anti-open grazing law, which Fulani herders under the auspices of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore and other Fulani socio-cultural groups, swiftly rejected.
Gov. Akeredolu, a few weeks ago, had issued a quit notice order to unregistered herders in Ondo State forests, blaming them for the numerous cases of criminality in the state. In fact, Akeredolu’s action triggered a major controversy that jolted both the Presidency and other stakeholders, especially in the South-West. The disagreement also led to skirmishes between farmers and herders in Oyo and Ogun states.
But joining in the dispute, which has continued to heat up the polity, the Bauchi State governor, faulted the quit notice given to killer-herdsmen in the southern states, especially in Ondo, pointing out that the move of the southern governors was wrong.
Gov. Mohammed also claimed that Fulani herders carried AK-47 for self-defence because they were frequently attacked by cattle rustlers.
Mohammed said, “On the herders-farmers clashes, you have seen what our colleagues in the South-West and South-East are doing. Some of us told them with all modesty and humility-you are wrong.
But the person that is most wrong is the Governor of Benue State, my brother and colleague, Governor Samuel Ortom. He started all these. “We have so many Tiv people working and farming in Alkaleri, Tafawa Balewa, Bogoro local government area of Bauchi, has anyone asked them to go? We have not because it is their constitutional rights to be there.
“We have Yoruba people in Bauchi, for over 150 years, even before the birth of Nigeria; some of them have risen to become permanent secretaries in the Bauchi, in Gombe and in Borno.
“And now because the Fulani man is practising the tradition of pastoralism, he has been exposed to the vagaries of the forest, cattle rustlers who carry guns, kill him and take away his commonwealth, which is the cows.
“He has no option but to carry AK-47 because the society and the government are not protecting him, what is his fault; it’s the fault of the government and the people.
The season of spat, however, did not end with Ortom and Mohammed. Gov. Ganduje also went into the fray after he declared that pastoralism was old -fashioned.
The model for modern animal husbandry across the globe, the governor said, was ranching.
He noted, “It is often forgotten that there are foreigners among those Fulani herders, but nobody is talking about them. The moment a foreign Fulani herder infiltrated into Nigeria and committed a crime, he would be considered as Nigerian Fulani. Therefore, it is high time they are banned from entering Nigeria.
“Secondly, those herders travelling from the north to south should be banned from doing so. Those that are saying they should not be banned from trekking to the southern part of the country for grazing should use their children to do so. This is a national issue. A robust bill by National Assembly is the only answer to the issue of farmer/herder conflict.”
Gov. el-Rufai has, however, kicked against the attack and eviction of herdsmen in some parts of the country.
He said, “The government of Kaduna State notes
with grave concern, video clips circulating on social media platforms like WhatsApp in which citizens of a particular ethnicity are being massacred and their properties destroyed in parts of Nigeria.
“This is coming amid avoidable rhetoric, frenzied ethnic profiling and unlawful eviction of citizens from their places of domicile. Some alleged that these incidents have the support of leaders of the places where attacks have occurred. While I am unable to confirm the authenticity of the video clips, their impact on the peaceful co-existence of our people is a source of concern.”
Meanwhile, a lawyer and activist, Austin Osakue, described the Bauchi governor’s suggestion as “reckless”.
He said, “The statement is reckless, provocative, divisive and unbecoming of the status of a governor in a pluralistic society like Nigeria. The statement has the potential of exacerbating the ethnic and religious tension across Nigeria.
“It elevates the status of cows far and above that of Nigerians. The statement opens the floodgates for Nigerians of other ethnic divides and geographical zones to resort to self-help.
“That the Buhari-led administration has not reprimanded the Bauchi governor so far paints a scenario of the voice of Jacob but the Hand of Esau. How can one ethnic group constitute so much threat to the rest of Nigeria? Who are their backers? Why have repeated calls for ranches fallen on deaf ears?
“We call on the Buhari’s government to consult the history books. If it does, it will discover that the exact same events which led to the 30-month civil war between 1967 and 1970 are playing out now. Those who fail to learn from history will be forced to repeat it”.
Publisher, Milestone Magazine, Osazua Ivbaze, said the call for herdsmen to bear arms was an indirect way of endorsing banditry in the country.
He added, “With AK-47 in their possession, the herdsmen are notoriously emboldened in the prosecution of their murderous escapades, rape of innocent women and destruction of crops and farmlands.
“The first step to de-escalate tension and dissipate fears in Nigerian communities is to ensure that we return to the old ways of herdsmen using sticks to lead their cattle.”
In a related development, an elder statesman and former Secretary to the Katsina State Government, Alhaji Isah Katsina, has accused Northern governors of lacking the political will to alleviate the plight of Fulani herders.
He said, “Northern governors should realise that what the Fulani require now is infrastructure.
“They should map out a coordinated programme targeted at providing infrastructure for Fulani within the northern region. Our brothers should stop venturing into western Nigeria because the land ownership policy there is different from what obtains in the North.
“You cannot just take your cattle to any anywhere you like. So, political leaders need to encourage them to settle down and pursue an acceptable way of life in the country. The way forward is having ranches but our leaders are not showing interest in the initiative. They are only bothered about amassing huge sums of money and awarding contracts to their cronies”.
For a Plateau State-based politician, Rondong Washpam, the ongoing controversy points to the fact state policing has become inevitable. He, however, faulted the idea of allowing herdsmen to bear arms.
Similarly, a Dutse-based activist, Mustapha Barkindo, noted that allowing herdsmen to carry arms would easily plunge the country into a “dangerous adventure”.
“The point raised by the Bauchi governor is serious. The issue of farmers-herders clash needs to be addressed holistically. We should not allow it to escalate, else it will lead to anarchy which will not augur well for the country,” Barkindo said.
Contributing, a lawyer, Hafiz Taura called for a political solution, saying it is the leeway for peace.
2023 perspective
On Ganduje and el- Rufai’s disagreement over lack of collaboration in fighting insecurity in the North, a legal practitioner, Sylvanus Onaikhena, stated that both were scheming for the 2023 presidential poll.
“It is mere political disagreement which they will resolve with a slogan, no permanent friend, but permanent interest in politics’’.
Before now, el-Rufai and Ganduje had engaged each other in the public space. The object of their row was the controversial issue of the repatriation of Almajirai.
The Kaduna governor had said that some almajirai repatriated from Kano had tested positive for Covid-19, while Ganduje warned him against politicising the issue.
Both governors belong to the All Progressives Congress.
A commentator, who craved anonymity, said, “The people of Kano and Zaria have a centuries-old traditional joking relationship. El-Rufai and Ganduje should use that to build relationships, instead of engaging in this worthless bad blood.
They clearly have some personal and political differences. They are free to have such differences, but they must not use such and cause friction between two brotherly northern states”.
