Curing the Headache Of Nomadic Cattle Rearing

By Akunna Ejim

Another clash between Fulani herdsmen and their host community, this time, in Benue State, claimed the lives of more than 55 people on 23 March. Nomadic cattle breeders continuously move around in search of new grazing grounds for their livestock. The issue here is the constant tension between these herdsmen and whatever community that happens to play unwitting host to them and their livestock. Granted they play an important role in terms of fulfilling most of the demand for cattle-related products, but the escalation in violent clashes with host communities cannot be overlooked.

Most of the trouble stems from the encroachment of the herdsmen and their cattle on the farmlands and private property in the places they lead their livestock to forage for food. In numerous instances, the cattle have wreaked serious havoc on the livelihood of community members by damaging the crops on their farmlands. In other instances, the herdsmen have led their livestock onto the fields of private citizens or corporations. In rural areas, it is not an uncommon sight to happen upon herdsmen and their cattle in the middle of expressways and other roads meant for motor vehicles. This has led to accidents in the past, as the operators of the vehicles swerve or apply their brakes suddenly in an attempt to avoid a collision with the cattle in their way. The worrisome aspect is the attitude of the herdsmen, who often feel it is their right to trespass on the roads, raining abuses on any motorist who tries to voice his or her objection to this wanton disregard of the life and property of others.

This attitude is also displayed when they encroach on the territories of communities during the course of their roaming. They allow their livestock to trespass onto restricted areas, and the places that common sense ought to tell them are no-go areas. The recent clashes between Fulani herdsmen and Tiv farmers are typical examples of the types of problems that can ensue from this nonchalant attitude. Some youths in Adekaa area of Markurdi, Benue State, were said to have attacked a number of the Fulani settlements in the area, making away with about 50 of their cattle.

This led to a reprisal attack by the Fulani herdsmen who mobilised themselves and stormed the area, leading to the murder of over four people. The sophisticated weapons utilised by the invading marauders during the attacks begs the question of where and why supposedly illiterate herdsmen get weapons like AK-47s. It is understandable that they want to protect their lives and property from attacks, but whatever happened to recourse to the law enforcement authorities, such as the police, or is it now a case of survival in the jungle? Also, if the host community is no longer receptive due to certain misunderstandings, why don’t they liaise with community leaders to find a solution, rather than trying to forcefully take over the community?

On 23 March, renewed hostilities between Tiv youths and the Fulani herdsmen led to the loss of over 50 lives at Gbajimba, Benue State. The Fulani herdsmen allegedly stormed Gbajimba in large numbers, early in that Sunday morning, only to be repelled by the youths of the area, who engaged them in fierce combat. The Fulani retreated, regrouped, and relaunched another attack in the afternoon, this time, in even larger numbers, hollering and attacking anything in sight, and also burning down the houses and properties of the community members. How is this display of savagery any way to behave in the 21st Century? In as much as everyone is canvassing for a more unified Nigeria where any citizen can feel at home anywhere in the country, this does not mean that anyone can go to the ancestral home of any community and commit such acts of savagery.

So what is the solution to this huge problem? The Delta State Government recently threatened to expel any cattle rearer in the state who allowed his cattle to cause any problems, including the destruction of farm crops, and killing or causing any bodily harm to farmers in the state. The Niger State Government took a more direct approach through the outright expulsion of more than 200 Fulani herdsmen from the state. Is this the best way to tackle this issue? The obvious answer is no. The herdsmen play a noted role in the society and fulfill the demand for cattle-related products. More than 90 percent of the total livestock in Nigeria is produced by these traditional herdsmen and other traditional rearers, even though practicallynone of them have any kind of grazing land. Their migratory nature makes it hard to develop and implementbest practices regarding the health of the animals meant for public consumption.

The best solution is better grassroots education at a level they can embrace to help them see the benefits in adopting modern methods of raising cattle. The continuous migration method is not only ancient; it is also the source of too many conflicts to remain sustainable in the long run. The most visible motivating factor for the roaming method of cattle-rearing in Nigeria by these herdsmen is the sourcing of food for their herds. A scarcity of pasture for the animals forces some of the cattle rearers to engage in the old-fashioned nomadic pastoralism. Herdsmen guide their goats, cattle, sheep and so on to areas with foliage the animals can feed on, and water.

The Nigerian government has made several attempts in the past to settle these wandering cattle rearers with limited success. One of the initiatives was the establishment of grazing reserves in the cattle-producing areas in the north. The aim was to set aside large grazing grounds that would serve as ranches so the nomadic herdsmen could settle there and engage in practices aimed at internally growing and sourcing for food for their animals.

These “ranches” would be owned by individuals, groups or cooperatives. Some of these schemes were promoted to the target audience intensively, and saw some early success, only to be thwarted by lack of proper implementation. The outposts were usually situated in remote areas where the government was able to secure large parcels of land for the venture, but there was no provision for health centers, water/irrigation, veterinary posts, schools for their children, and markets for the sale of the animals. This is 2014, not ancient times, and deadly clashes between herdsmen and farmers should not be an issue in the 21st Century.

—Akunna  Ejim, [email protected]

…Published in TheNEWS magazine