EXODUS OF HERDERS, CATTLE SPARKS FEARS IN NASARAWA
Farmers Hurriedly Harvest Crops as Cattle Swarm Awe, Keana, Others We Left Our Wives, Children Behind to Beat November 1 Deadline Ortom is Out to Dislodge All Fulani From Benue – MACBAN
There has been a massive influx of Fulani herders and thousands of their cattle into parts of Nasarawa State since Tuesday, when an anti-open grazing law enacted by neighbouring Benue State Government came into force.
The development is already causing concerns among farming communities in Nasarawa, who fear their farmlands may be destroyed by the migrating herders.
The law, which was signed by Governor Samuel Ortom in June, banned open grazing in the state, replacing it with ranching.
Stopping the open grazing of cattle was necessary to end perennial herders-farmers clashes that have claimed many lives in the state, according to government officials.
The law was largely welcomed in the state, even as Fulani herders viewed it as targeting their ethnic group.
As at Friday evening, Daily Trust on Sunday learnt that over one million cattle fleeing Benue had crossed into border communities of Awe, Doma, Keana and Obi local government areas of Nasarawa State.
About 10 million cattle would move into Nasarawa State from Benue, to escape the ban, the chairman of Miyetti-Allah Cattle Breeders Association, Alhaji Musa Muahhed-Mati, told journalists Friday.
The mass movement is already heightening tensions in Awe Local Government Area where most of the herders are headed, as 70 per cent of farmers there are yet to harvest their crops, it was gathered.
Awe is regarded as a haven for rice farmers because of its climate conditions, arable land and water.
When our correspondent visited the local government on Friday, he observed many displaced herders and their cattle taking shelter there.
More animals were also seen trooping into the area from Bakin Kogi, a settlement at the edge of River Benue.
Some of the Fulani were spotted moving with their children, who helped them control their cattle.
The herders, who were not accompanied by women, looked tired and nervous.
Their presence has already created a tense atmosphere in the affected areas, especially farmers who are yet to harvest their crops. Parts of Nasarawa State had, in the past, witnessed bloody clashes between herders and farmers.
A farmer at the outskirts of Awe, Abigel Bitrus, said the presence of the herders had caused fear and panic in the minds of many farmers.
“We hurriedly harvested our rice this morning when we noticed their arrival in the nearby village. You can see them all over, and before you know it, they will release them (the animals) into people’s farms.
“Their presence is causing a serious tension and only God knows what will happen. We planned to harvest our rice next week, but knowing full well that this large number of cattle roaming about could end up destroying the entire farm, we teamed up with our relatives to harvest and park our rice home,” she said.
Another farmer, who was seen harvesting his rice, surrounded by the displaced herders in Agwan Mada in Awe, John Dakun, told Daily Trust on Sunday that they were living peacefully with the indigenous Fulani in the area, expressing hope that the newcomers would not cause trouble in the communities.
“They have been here since yesterday with over 1000 cattle and sheep, settling beside our farm, but no single cow or sheep has destroyed our crops, and there is no reported case of destruction of any farmland or home yet. But one thing that is obvious all over our area is the fear that these strangers may end up trespassing into people’s farms because their number is increasing,” Dakun said.
Grazing law is a product of envy – Herders
Some of the Fulani who spoke to our
correspondent shortly after their arrival in Nasarawa State, described the anti-open grazing law as being targeted at their wealth.
Musa Lawal, 46, said he relocated from Yelwata village in Goma Local Government Area of Benue State so as not to be found wanting for violating the new law. He complained that its enforcement had thrown him and his siblings into untold hardship.
“We are nine adults in the family, but only five of us reached Awe. We don’t know the whereabouts of the remaining four. We rushed out to beat the deadline of this ungodly law because we didn’t know what could happen.
“We crossed into Nasarawa with over 1000 cattle and 200 sheep. We have now temporarily resettled in an empty farmland at Angwan Mada in Gonan Wazan. I was born and brought up in Benue State and now scouting for home elsewhere. We are not happy with this law because it is a grand plan to annihilate us out of jealousy and envy of our wealth, but the Almighty God who provides for us will protect our treasure.
“We were forced to migrate here, leaving our wives and many children behind, as well as personal belongings. We are in a serious fix right now about where to settle with our cattle and start a new life,” he said.
Sale Utub Yaronkada fled Bajemba in Goma Local Government Area of Benue State and walked for seven days, with over 400 cattle and 95 sheep to get to Nasarawa.
“We are still roaming around different rice farms and the river between Jangaro, Barkono and Kwatan Isa. At sunset, we find an empty farm and spend the night there,” he said, adding, “Five of us arrived here. The two children with us are not used to this kind of stress and they are hungry. We are afraid of forging ahead to an unknown destination because throughout my life I have never crossed the River Benue. All our lives have been in Benue. For now, we are waiting for our relatives to come and we decided our fate,” the 42-year-old said.
Among the new arrivals in Awe was Jibrin Hassan, 65, who lived 30 years of his life in Agoma area in Benue State. The grandfather accused Governor Ortom of launching discriminatory policies against the Fulani from the beginning of his administration. “They indirectly asked us to leave. They used government machinery under the guise of anti-grazing law without an option to the thousands of displaced Fulani herders in Benue. There is an ulterior motive behind the law.
“I have two wives and 20 children and I asked my wives and children to wait for a while for me to get where to settle in peace before they join me. We are calling on the Federal Government to intervene in this impunity by rescuing thousands of Nigerians being illegally persecuted in their own country without recourse to their fundamental rights as guaranteed by the constitution of Nigeria,” he added.
Worries that the implementation of the law in Benue may create problems in Nasarawa State compelled Governor Umaru Tanko Al-Makura to allay such fears last week, saying there was no cause for worry over herders influx into the state.
Al-Makura stated this to newsmen on Thursday, shortly after leading security chiefs to a surveillance tour aboard a helicopter of the five local government areas that share boundaries with Benue State. “We felt we should go and see for ourselves with members of the State Security Council. We have gone round the affected areas that share boundaries with Benue and we have observed movement here and there of Fulani herders, but it has not reached an alarming stage.
“The Benue State anti-grazing law might have one or two repercussions in Nasarawa State; we will continue to keep our eyes open and monitor the situation and be vigilant to ensure that the migrated herders do not disrupt peace and stability in the state. We have set up committees in all the affected areas and deployed security operatives on surveillance and close monitoring, especially where there is intensive migration so that the situation does not breach peace.
“If there is any reason for them to stay in Nasarawa before they pass, they have the right to pass and we will not stop them, but they should be careful not to trespass into people’s farms and homes. What is important is that both the inhabitant herders and migrated Fulani should understand the situation and not to allow such exercise to cause any problem,” he added.
In an interview with Daily Trust on Sunday in June, Governor Ortom defended the law, saying it would address farmersherders clashes that have been claiming lives in the state. The governor refuted allegations that the ban was targeted at a particular ethnic group, saying the law affects other animals like pig and sheep.
The chairman of Miyyati Allah Cattle Breeders Association (MACBAN) in Awe branch, Musa Mati Muhammed, Friday reacted to the situation in Awe and other parts of Nasarawa State, saying the group had since embarked on enlightenment campaign in all areas where the migrated herders settled.
Muhammed said that MACBAN is collaborating with traditional rulers, security agencies and other relevant stakeholders in Awe to ensure that both the migrated herders and other host communities live in peace.
He appealed to the Nasarawa State Government to take the current humanitarian and security crisis to the Federal Government for quick response and intervention before the situation got out of hand.
Ortom out to dislodge Fulani from Benue – Miyatti Allah
The North-Central branch of the Miyatti Allah Cattle Breeders Association (MACBAN) has accused Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State of deliberately planning to dislodge the entire Fulani herders from the state.
The association also described his action as capable of exposing million of herders plying North-South cattle routes to harassment, intimidation and arrest.
Addressing a press conference yesterday in Lafia, the chairman of MACBAN for the North-Central zone, Danladi Ciroma, said, “We owe it to ourselves and humanity to state in a very categorical terms that the anti-open grazing law is the climax of a grand design overtime to provide a legal backing to the total and complete dislodging of Fulani herders in Benue State. In other words, this law enacted by the Benue State House of Assembly and assented to by Governor Samuel Ortom provides a shield that justifies the systematic annihilation of Fulani herders.”
Ciroma said that the anti- open grazing law deliberately ignored the fact that Benue State is a major cattle route which Fulani herders use to get to the southern part of the country from the North.
Majority of Fulani herders, he noted, “are unaware that their traditional method of rearing cattle has been proscribed by the law,” meaning “innocent Fulani herders who usually ply the Benue State route from the North to southern Nigeria in the coming months stand the risk of arrest, which is a recipe for the public peace.
“The fulcrum of this press conference is to bring to the fore, the risk a typical Fulani herder and his properties are exposed to as far as the implementation of the Benue State open-grazing law is concerned and call on national leaders, its trustees, Federal Government, the international community and good spirited individuals to, as a matter of urgency, wade into this sensitive issue and have it resolved,” he said.