Time for a Fulani Hijrah to Kano
Iam a journalist and stakeholder in the Fulbe cause. Therefore, this article is intended to speak directly to Nigeria’s nomadic herdsmen or pastoralists. It discusses their next--or what should be their next--steps, the necessity for a Fulani Hijrah to Kano.
We need not bother to justify or dismiss the various theories surrounding the nomadic Fulani world. In the same vein, we shall ignore the cosmetic media coverage and careless public analyses of the major issues: what has happened to the nomads, what is happening to them now, and how they have reacted or are reacting to attacks and how they are being provoked to initiate attacks on non-Fulbe communities.
Since the Federal Government and the federating states seem to have failed to manage the nomadic challenge, I welcome the invitation from Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje of Kano State for all his nomadic kinsmen to relocate to Kano and continue with their cherished lifestyle in dignity, solidarity, and modernity. This hand of fellowship is heartwarming, timely and positioned enough to create a sustainable solution to the age-long challenges facing Fulbe pastoralists all over Africa.
Dr. Ganduje’s recipe will surely be a test-run of a seemingly workable strategy for finally settling and sustainably solving the human development challenges facing millions of Fulbe nomads right across Africa. This Hijrah [journey undertaken to escape persecution] will fetch a new and sustainable life for nomads and stabilize what remains of Nigeria’s fragile understanding of their values, culture, and lifestyle.
Kano being a historic center of commerce provides an enabling environment for the realization of their dreams for a modern life of security, stability, and prosperity. This Hijrah will surely open new doors to a new life of infrastructure, more decent shelter, healthcare, guaranteed education, entrepreneurship, and job creation through small and big-time productive activities such as cheesemaking, modern abattoirs, and tanneries. Clearly, the stillborn nomadic education program of the Federal Government, which has hardly benefitted the Fulbe truly as originally envisioned will now be re-thought, re-evaluated and re-strategized. The nomads will equally have access to decent medicare and other amenities as do other Nigerians with non-nomadic lifestyle. Women and youths who are among the most vulnerable will have more opportunities and guarantees to lead more productive and entrepreneurial lives.
Kano surely will naturally provide the strategic platform for a sustainable transformation of the nomadic Fulbe pastoralists. At this time, Nigerians and other Africans who hitherto blindly disdained, recklessly attacked or deliberately failed to respectfully understand and appreciate the place of the Pullo [singular for Fulbe], his role in society and contributions to national development, will now begin to deal with the Fulbe more honorably from a position of strength not weakness, from a perspective of respect not disdain, and from the lens of honor not mindless denigration. Everyone will then, lately though, remember that for sharing a common Adamic (from Adam) ancestry, the Fulbe are not merely animate, but equally human.
I wish to first sue for peace and ask for an immediate acceptance of the invitation by Governor Ganduje as soon as practicable. This invitation is not merely timely, but highly imperative. As long as they do not migrate and keep staying where they are all over the country (in both hostile and receptive communities), their present stigmatization, whether they attack or are attacked, will hardly ever change in several years to come. However, since the plethora of Fulbe against Fulbe attacks in Zamfara and the seemingly genocidal attacks against the Fulbe on the Mambilla Plateau in 2017 are hardly truly reported by the mainstream media. Not even did they attract the due sympathy of the generality of the Nigerian public outside the Fulbe race. It is better for the nomads to move and grab the permanent residency invitation and start a new life of strategic industrialization based on the window being created by Governor Ganduje. Tabital Pulaaku International, Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, The Pastoral Resolve (PARE), and other pan-Fulbe cultural organizations should join hands with Governor Ganduje and the National Commission for Nomadic Education to realize the time-honored dream of a historic Fulani Hijrah to Kano and settle in one of their ancestral homes – the land of Ibrahim Dabo.
Even though there could be varied opinions on the advantages or minuses of Ganduje’s offer, I strongly believe that the advantages of relocation far outweigh any disadvantages. Yes, offenders in any crisis or confrontation like the one before us should ideally face the law. However, sometimes the disciplinary option hardly works based on the exigencies of our time and location. In this case of a stereotyping of the Fulbe pastoralists in Nigeria and beyond, the socio-political scenario should be fully analyzed and appreciated first. This is to determine, the most preferred way to go, between prosecuting culprits through a traditionally cumbersome and largely lackadaisical legal process and hastily grabbing the brotherly call of Ganduje for the greater good of millions of suffering Fulbe brethren. I personally vote for migrating home to the abode of Ibrahim Dabo. Besides silencing mindless and un-analytical attackers, migration to Kano will create boundless socio-economic options and opportunities for the Fulbe, for Kano, and for Nigeria, including perceived antagonists.
First and foremost, a migration will foster sustainable peace and security of lives, property and economic resources - mainly the livestock which is at the heart of the crisis. When there is peace, the elusive stability and prosperity of our people will be guaranteed. Several meat processing businesses with modern abattoirs could easily spring up in Kano and spread around the country, if not the entire west coast of Africa. This means substantial additional revenues for the country coming out of Kano. When this highly envisaged revenue begins to flow, few Nigerians will ever have imagined that in volume and velocity, in value and virtue, such could have been in the offing.
Migration to Kano will mark the beginning of permanent settlements for the Fulbe pastoralists, who can now own permanent lands and benefit from amenities such as public schools, hospitals and other infrastructures, participation in the political process, and more. While at home in Kano, the pastoralists can call the shots – relishing in the hitherto elusive comfort of managing their cherished lifestyle in dignity.
Other Fulbe governors should follow suit by calling back their brethren in earnest. Doing so at this auspicious moment will be much more realistic and strategic. Fulbe leaders and groups should step in to help create a blueprint that will facilitate the relocation of nomads, not only to Kano but to other states that are also ready to extend similar handshakes to pastoralists. Dr. Ganduje as a globally distinguished Fulbe leader who has contributed to Fulfulde, Pulaaku, and the cause of Fulbe more than many political leaders in Nigeria should be supported to translate this highly exemplary dream into reality. I am confident that Governor Ganduje, a lettered gentleman, understands the imperative for sustainability when the Fulbe finally migrate to Kano. All necessary relocation preliminaries should be designed and deployed strategically according to defined timelines and deadlines so that long after a Pullo governor in Kano, the structures, facilities and enabling laws would remain in place. In this regard, the legal frameworks for ensuring this happens should be initiated now. The necessary bills for the migration, settlement, land allocation, ownership, and retention should be developed, tabled now, passed, and approved.
Whenever the Hijrah is achieved, whoever needs livestock from other parts of Nigeria or beyond other than Kano should do one of two things: 1. physically come to Kano or any of the other friendly locations across the north, buy and deal with shipment; or 2. learn to become a herdsman or keep a ranch. Potential customers can either keep as much as they need to use at a particular time, or if they need to raise a ranch, they should prepare to deal with the challenges of hiring permanent herdsmen, securing a ranch, renting a veterinarian, stocking feeds and deal with logistics to translate them into full-time cattle owners or custodians.
This location should be able to accommodate a new modern city. All the essential amenities and infrastructure should be captured in the strategic plan that will drive the new residency. This could be a jointly driven and funded project that should follow the shape of a typical PPP (Public Private Partnership) model. Utilities should include markets, hospitals, clinics, housing, schools, and recreational facilities. Ideally, the envisioned new abode can be named Tabital City or Pulaaku City. This will rhyme with the official name of the leading umbrella organization for Fulbe descendants around the world. Incidentally, the host of the migrants and chief custodian of the emerging Tabital or Pulaaku City (Dr. Ganduje) is the current President of Tabital Pulaaku International in Nigeria. International organizations and humanitarian initiatives around the world should join hands to support this time-honored initiative. Proponents suggest that because of the unique nature and scope of the challenges that have faced pastoralists for generations, it has also become necessary for the sake of their collective futures, to establish a Pastoralists Hijrah Strategic Development Commission (PHSDC). The hundreds of Fulbe in the National Assembly should rally round this vision and initiate a legislation to translate this dream into a legal reality.