‘Cattle rustling must be tamed now’
Musa Isa Yaro is a farmer and owner of Al Gulam Integrated Farms along Abuja-keffi Road. His farm was recently affected by cattle rustling. In this interview with he shares his experiences in the hands of rustlers and the threat they pose to the country.
As a farmer, what do you produce?
I am into fishery, poultry, irrigation farming and other livestock production. I also teach young people fishery, irrigation and poultry to enable them to be self-reliant. All these are done free-of-charge.
Give me an idea of the number of livestock you have in your farm?
I have about 500 sheep, 150 goats and about 120 cows.
Recently there has been upsurge in cattle rustling in towns around Abuja. Is your farm also affected by this menace?
Yes my farm was also affected. Two weeks ago, some young men armed with automatic weapons, stormed the farm and opened fire on people living on the farm. One woman was seriously injured. They then stole all the cattle.
When they left with the animals, we decided to trace where they took them to and we were able to get some of the cattle. We then decided to seek help from the vigilantes to recover the animals. When we got to the vigilante office, they directed us to go to a village called Ajuwai, 15 kilometers along Akwanga- Keffi road. When we got there, we met with the officials of the vigilantes and the tradition rulers in the village.
We explained everything to them. They demanded for the sum of N300,000 to recover the animals for us. We agreed to pay. We left Ajuwai and after covering a distance of about two kilometres,I saw them coming to the village with the cattle.
You mean those who did the rustling?
Yes. Unfortunately for the rustlers, we got to the village before them. On sighting my cattle, I went back to inform the vigilante officials and the village head that I saw the animals. They mobilised youth and members of the vigilante for the recovery of the animals. By 10pm I was informed that they have recovered the cattle with a promise to return them to the farm the following morning.
At the same time the police tried to rescue our situation. But we were suspecting that if police entered the town, they could be ambushed by the rustlers. This is because from Ajuwai to another village called Angwan Doka, majority of these criminals live in these areas. They are also heavily armed with dangerous weapons.
So I told the police not to enter the town because we are told that 70% of these criminals are carrying automatic weapons which could lead to serious exchange of gun fire and casualties. I wouldn’t want the police to lose their lives because of the cattle.
The reason I felt so was because if any officer dies, nobody will cater for his family. I think government needs to look critically at the welfare of the police. I think they are really trying in fighting criminals. The Police AIG Zone 2 has tried so much in fighting this scourge in the area.
I was so scared of an ambush because these areas have thick forests. You cannot see if somebody wants to ambush you. Moreso, it was already late-about 11pm. By this time I decided to get out of the place. I paid 30 armed youth with 10 motorcycles each carrying three people to accompany me to the main road with a promise to return the animals to my farm the next morning.
Did you get the animals the next morning as promised?
The next morning they told me that they recovered only 15 cattle, while over 50 cattle were still with the youth. I disagreed with a threat to take action. With those threats, they took eight cattle and sent about 51 to me. They brought these animals on Friday by 8pm. One hour later, they came back rustled them again shooting guns. I realized that the same people I sought help from are the rustlers!
So I contacted the Commanding Officer, Shittu Alao Barracks, Keffi, who has made remarkable effort in fighting cattle rustling in the area. This effort has led to recovery of animals and many arrests. If we have more of his type in Nigeria, most of these crimes would be dealt with. I really appreciate what the Commanding Officer of the Nigerian Army Keffi did. It is a commendable effort.
Who do you think are these cattle rustlers; fellow Fulani, youth who are not employed or criminals from other areas?
Some of them are people who claim to be Fulani but they are not really Fulani, though some of them speak the language. I am a Fulani man and I know a real Fulani man does not steal. Most of the Hausas that you see today have lineages with the Fulani. Even most of the Emirs are Fulani. A real Fulani man does not steal.
What do you want government to do in this regard?
I want government to know that even animals need to be cared for. We must protect them against these criminal gangs. I won’t forget the incident at a town in Jigawa State called Baturiya, in Hadejia emirate. There were birds from Europe, which came there and white men followed the birds to the town feeding and providing veterinary services to them. These are birds.
You see how the issue of cattle rustling is escalating in the country. If something is not done urgently to tame the menace, it will throw this country in a chaotic situation. It will become difficult to move around even in broad daylight in this country.
These people operate from the bush. In fact, what they are doing now is to stop vehicles on the highways and drag women to the bush. Something has to be done urgently.
Another thing I want government to know is that, when rustlers are done with all the cattle in this country, they will face human beings.
Government must also engage the youth in meaningful ventures and create more grazing reserves in the country for herdsmen. That is the only way some of these conflicts between crop farmers and herdsmen will be reduced.