Lawlessness should never be allowed to "escalate" much less "beyond what security can control". Not in a country of equal citizenship and laws.
That cattle Fulani way of life is no longer sustainable. See the many problems associated with it? What needs to happen is for the cattle Fulani to be progressively weaned off their dying way of life. This should have started many years ago. Their nomadic way of life thrives because it has been politicized as it should not have been. Remember the wanton wastefulness Jibril Aminu called "nomadic education?
The cattle Fulani should be charged rent and taxes which usually are effective behavior/life style change instruments, if they will not adapt/change as human beings all through history have had to do to survive. The lawlessness of the cattle Fulani has become a problem in many parts of the country. If only government, politicians, and the police and other public safety authorities will do their job.
oa
From: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com [mailto:usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Segun Ogungbemi
Sent: Thursday, September 24, 2015 5:27 PM
To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Fwd: Edo_Global. AFIS-- FULANI HAS SOME POWER ONLY IN NIGERIA AND HAVE ZERO POWER EVERYWHERE SCATTERED POOREST AND DESTITUTES IN 15 COUNTRIES EVERYWHERE ==FULANI ARE BORN TO RULE, IGBO ARE BORN TO CRY.[ Questions on the...
oa,
A few months ago these cattle wonderers killed a young man in my town and disappeared. No arrest has been made by the police.
The issue is that some of the traditional rulers and well to do individuals in the communities where they kill with impunity are the owners of the cattle.
The police in my community do not protect the farmers whose crops are often destroyed by these Bororos as are called by my people in Yagba East LGA, Kogi State.
Something should be done before it escalates beyond what the security can control.
Prof. Segun Ogungbemi
On Sep 24, 2015, at 10:38 PM, "Anunoby, Ogugua" <AnunobyO@lincolnu.edu> wrote:
What is going on? Does Nigeria owe the cattle Fulani a living as cattle herders? Yes, they are entitled to their choice of a way of life. That choice must not be at the expense of non-members of their community or other communities. They must be responsible for the full costs of that way of life. They must not transfer the costs to others. Not if they do not share the revenue.
They cattle Fulani no more entitled to the subsidization of their way of life than any other Nigerian communities are. Why must they continue to be entitled to graze their cattle grave on other people's land (including farmland) against the wishes of the landowners and for no charge? Cattle herding is a business. Like every other business, it should cover its costs. The cattle Fulani sell their cattle and keep all the proceeds of sale do they not? Anywhere else, rent will be due from them and paid to landowners for use of their land. Why would they not pay rent for use of land that is not theirs? They must be the only land users who do not pay rent for using other people's land. Do they pay tax I dare to ask? If so to who?
Life styles change with time. Even elements of culture over time, go out of fashion. The nomadic way of life is an endangered way of life. It is increasingly going out of fashion. The sooner the cattle Fulani realize this the better for them and the safer for the communities they are trespassing on their land.. There are better including more conflict-free ways to raise cattle at this time in human history.
Nigeria and Nigerians, should quit acquiescing at and enabling a disappearing way of life that has become a national security risk in many parts of the country. Their nomadic way of life is becoming more unaffordable.
oa
From: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com [mailto:usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Moses Ebe Ochonu
Sent: Thursday, September 24, 2015 1:06 PM
To: USAAfricaDialogue
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Fwd: Edo_Global. AFIS-- FULANI HAS SOME POWER ONLY IN NIGERIA AND HAVE ZERO POWER EVERYWHERE SCATTERED POOREST AND DESTITUTES IN 15 COUNTRIES EVERYWHERE ==FULANI ARE BORN TO RULE, IGBO ARE BORN TO CRY.[ Questions on the...
Obadiah,
I would not dismiss the academic perspectives completely, but I commend you for bringing a refreshingly non-formulaic approach to bear on the issue at hand. Jibrin Ibrahim wrote a column on this issue a while ago and his perspectives complement yours. One of the things he stressed, if my recollection is right, is the push impact of desertification and the expansion of the Saharan shore. I think that problem is pushing nomadic herding communities southwards, increasing pressure on land in the Nigerian/West African Savannah, and exacerbating clashes between farmers and pastoral Fulani.
I don't think you solve that problem by displacing or forcing sedentary/farming communities to give up land to accommodate the pastoralists. That's why all the talk about creating grazing reserves and grazing routes skirts the main issue and raises the question of who is going to willingly give up their land to build the reserves or to serve as route for the Fulani's cattle? I am from the Middle Belt myself and I can't see any of those people surrendering their lands willingly for the Fulani to occupy or graze their cattle on.
There is also something that Jibo brought up that is pertinent: the fact that increasingly, the livelihood of the Fulani is being threatened by aridity, shortage of grazing land, and increase in agricultural acreage due to increase in population. The result is that many young Fulani have actually left the pastoral economy and have now become mercenaries--fighters and terrorists for hire. Some have even become cattle rustlers, as military operations in the Northwest and cattle recoveries have revealed. This, for me, is the most dangerous dimension of the problem.
The sight of Fulani cattle herders in the bush with AK-47s is a tragic game changer. Clearly, these are not our grandparents' Fulani herders. These new groups have other agendas. I heard from many credible sources that the governor of Nasarawa State hired and armed some nomadic Fulani groups to attack and weaken the Eggon, the single biggest ethnic group in the state whose prominent politicians were/are his rivals. Once armed, these Fulani mercenaries moonlighted by raiding many communities outside the Eggon area and as far as Tivland and the Agata areas of Benue State.
Some of these Fulani gangs are outright bandits, raiding villages for treasure and killing sedentary peoples to make way for herders. There is a method to what is going on--it is not random.
These Fulani groups, whether they are herders or not, are now all armed with sophisticated weapons and no one is talking about disarming them. That is a huge problem. They've become a menacing sight across the country. Initially, they claimed that they carried these weapons to protect their herds from rustlers, but clearly there is now a coordinated agenda on their part of emptying lands that herding and non-herding Fulani can move into. They want to forcefully rebuild their threatened lifestyle on the backs and corpses of communities they regard as infidels and existential threats.
I read somewhere recently that many Fulani mineral prospectors have swarmed the Berom areas that have been deserted or depopulated by the raids of herdsmen. The Fulani, it is said, are now mining the many minerals in these areas and selling their finds directly to the Chinese, a growing, lucrative, underground mineral sector that is now said to be fueling the attacks on berom communities by bands of Fulani gunmen.
I agree about the need for some sort of Enclosure Law, but not the type passed in Europe. The Fulani need to to be told clearly that given the competition for farmlands, changing animal husbandry practices, the expansion of the Sahara, etc, their nomadic herding lifestyle is no longer sustainable and has become unsuitable to the imperative of peace and national cohesion.
They also need to be educated that sedentary herding and a fixed cattle economy is actually much more lucrative than a nomadic one that brings herders into constant conflict and is actually a decaying enterprise. Already, span>
They also need to be educated that sedentary herding and a fixed cattle economy is actually much more lucrative than a nomadic one that brings herders into constant conflict and is actually a decaying enterprise. Already, many of the children of these herders are choosing other vocations either because they no longer have cattle to herd or because they find the life too harsh and the lure of non-herding vocations too strong to resist. Nomadic herding is a vanishing lifestyle all over the world, and it is high time the Fulani in Nigeria are persuaded to adopt ranching as a more viable, more lucrative cattle culture.
On Thu, Sep 24, 2015 at 4:55 AM, Oluwatoyin Adepoju <toyinkaidara@gmail.com> wrote:
John Mbaku,
You might want to take your message to the Nigerian and international comnmnunities who insist, that in relation to the problems Nigeria and other countries faces with Fulani herdsmen, group dynamics is not defined in terms of individuals forming a group and using the group to engage in criminal activities.
The group- the Fulani- and their lifestyle- nomadic animal husbandry- are what shape the culture of the individuals within those groups.
The crisis being faced in West Africa with the Fulani herdsmen makes them notorious as far as South Eastern Nigeria and Ghana.
No other pastoralist group has such a reputation in relation to pastoralism in Nigeria.
When does your claim to your right to graze your cattle across broad territory interfere with my property rights?- is a framing of the situation that reflects the reality.
If you want to make a strong case, you could engage the references I linked in my last post along with the horde of references describing the problem which greet the person whop Googles 'Fulani herdsmen'.
Resorting to logic to try to wish away a stark and well known social reality wont do the job.
toyin
On 23 September 2015 at 18:42, John Mbaku <jmbaku@weber.edu> wrote:
Sorry, but this changes nothing. Hold individuals responsible for their criminal activities--if the individuals form a group and use the group to engage in criminal activities for the benefit of the group so formed, then prosecute the members of that particular group. All over the world where they are pastoralists and farmers, you are bound to have a conflict--we see it in Kenya, South Sudan, Sudan, Ethiopia, Senegal, northern Ghana, northern Cameroon and parts of the North West Region of Cameroon, northern Uganda, and parts of Côte d'Ivoire and in several countries in Asia and Latin America. The problem is of one of property rights--if you want to educate yourself on the problem, read books on the history of property rights in colonial Nigeria. Stop demonizing ethnic groups in Nigeria. This solves nothing.
On Wed, Sep 23, 2015 at 7:32 AM, Oluwatoyin Adepoju <toyinkaidara@gmail.com> wrote:
Thanks Mbaku.
I believe you are getting it wrong, although I needed to qualify my statements.
All Fulani dont need to be enaged in nomadic husbandry for nomadic husbandry to be recognised as a central occupation among the Fulani.
The issue is about population numbers in relation to occupation.
One can also address claims of some powerful Fulani working agst the resultion of the problems without claimg that all Fulani are involved.
This issue is too well know in Nigeria to require much flogging.
It involves clear historical facts which can be verified by a simple Google search, for example, for "Fulani herdsmen", a search that will reveal the age and scope of the problem in Nigeria and the fact that it extends beyond Nigeria and is so recognised beyond her borders, by both affected African communities and research groups beyond Africa.
Such a Google search brings up this paper, for example-linked and attached-which helps to make clear the specificity and scope of information on this subject in the public domain-
"Between Boko Haram and Fulani Herdsmen : Organised Crime and Insecurity in Nigeria" by Bolaji Omitola.Such a search also brings up this summation from the Wikipedia page on the Fulani-
"The Fulani are traditionally a nomadic, pastoralist trading people. They herd cattle, goats and sheep across the vast dry hinterlands of their domain, keeping somewhat separate from the local agricultural populations. They are the largest nomadic ethnic group in the world, and inhabit several territories over an area larger in size than the continental United States.In virtually every area of West Africa, where the nomadic Fulɓe reside, there has been an increasing trend of conflicts between farmers (sedentary) and grazier (pastoral nomadic). There have been numerous such cases on the Jos Plateau, Bamenda Highlands, Central/Middle Belt regions of Nigeria, Northern Burkina Faso, and Southern Chad. The rearing of cattle is a principal activity in four of Cameroon's ten administrative regions as well as three other provinces with herding on a lesser scale, throughout the North and Central regions of Nigeria, as well as the entire Sahel and Sudan region.[25
For decades there have been intermittent skirmishes between the Bororo (graziers) and sedentary farmers, such as the Jukun, Tiv, Chamba, Bamileke, and sometimes even the Hausa. Such conflicts usually begin when cattle have strayed into farmlands and destroyed crops. Thousands of Fulani have been forced to migrate from their traditional homelands in the Sahel, to areas further south, because of increasing encroachment of Saharan desertification. Nigeria alone loses 2,168 square kilometers of cattle rangeland and cropland every year to desertification, posing serious threats to the livelihoods of about 20 million people.[25]
Recurrent droughts have meant that a lot of traditional herding families have been forced to give up their nomadic way of life, losing a sense of their identity in the process. Increasing urbanization has also meant that a lot of traditional Fulani grazing lands have been taken for developmental purposes, or forcefully converted into farmlands.[26] These actions often result in violent attacks and reprisal counterattacks being exchanged between the Fulani, who feel their way of life and survival are being threatened, and other populations who often feel aggrieved from loss of farm produce even if the lands they farm on were initially barren and uncultivated.
Fulani in Nigeria have often requested for the development of exclusive grazing reserves, to curb conflicts.[27] All the leading presidential aspirants of previous elections seeking Fulɓe votes have made several of such failed promises in their campaigns. Discussions among government officials, traditional rulers, and Fulani leaders on the welfare of the pastoralists have always centered on requests and pledges for protecting grazing spaces and cattle passages. The growing pressure from Ardo'en (the Fulani community leaders) for the salvation of what is left of the customary grazing land has caused some state governments with large populations of herders (such as Gombe, Bauchi, Adamawa, Taraba, Plateau, and Kaduna) to include in their development plans the reactivation and preservation of grazing reserves. Quick to grasp the desperation of cattle-keepers for land, the administrators have instituted a Grazing Reserve Committee to find a lasting solution to the rapid depletion of grazing land resources in Nigeria.[28]
The Fulani believe that the expansion of the grazing reserves will boost livestock population, lessen the difficulty of herding, reduce seasonal migration, and enhance the interaction among farmers, pastoralists, and rural dwellers. Despite these expectations, grazing reserves are not within the reach of about three-quarters of the nomadic Fulani in Nigeria, who number in the millions, and about sixty percent of migrant pastoralists who use the existing grazing reserves keep to the same reserves every year. The number and the distribution of the grazing reserves in Nigeria range from insufficient to severely insufficient for Fulani livestock. In countries like Nigeria, Cameroon, and Burkina Faso where meat supplies are entirely dependent on the Fulani, such conflicts lead to scarcity and hikes in animal protein prices. In recent times, the Nigerian senate and other lawmakers have been bitterly divided in attempts to pass bills on grazing lands and migration "corridors" for Fulani herdsmen. This was mainly due to Southern and Central Nigerian lawmakers opposing the proposal, and Northern Lawmakers being in support.[28] Fulani are involved in Communal conflicts in Nigeria."
The claims of these passages are supported by references linked by the nos visible in the passages.
The abduction of Olu Falae, a central Yoruba politician and and technocrat, ascribed to Fulani herdsmen, is still unfolding.
I would have taken the trouble to marshall evidence from the past 5-10 years and the various efforts to respond to it from various sections of Nigerian society, evidence that demonstrates the problem stems from the insistence on an anachronistic form of animal husbandry by members of a particular ethnic group, but it might not be necessary now for me to devote time to that.As for the accounts from Plateau and Benue State, regardless of the various sides to the issue, based on the information I have got from following this story for some years and observing the increasing militarisation of Fulani herdsmen and recent reports, with pictures, of their renewed onslaught, I give credence to the claim that they are on an ethnic cleansing mission and land grab mission in one or both of those states.
I would be open to examining evidence to the contrary in relation to the claims I am making.
thanks
toyin
On 23 September 2015 at 10:49, Ugo Nwokeji <ugo@berkeley.edu> wrote:
On 23 September 2015 at 10:49, Ugo Nwokeji <ugo@berkeley.edu> wrote:
Well-said, Professor Mbaku.
This sort of stereotyping is simply unacceptable, apart from being misleading and dangerous. Period.Ugo
G. Ugo Nwokeji
Director, Center for African Studies
Associate Professor of African American Studies
University of California, Berkeley
686 Barrows Hall #2572
Berkeley, CA 94720
Tel. (510) 542-8140
Fax (510) 642-0318Twitter: @UgoNwokeji
Facebook: facebook.com/ugo.nwokeji
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/profile/view?id=243610869
On Tue, Sep 22, 2015 at 12:23 PM, John Mbaku <jmbaku@weber.edu> wrote:
Dear Toyin: You wrote:
With reference to more specfioc issues involving the Fulani in Nigeria, a central problem between Fulani herdsmen and other Nigerians has to do with their insistence on nomadic husbandry in world of sedentary communities, leading to frequent clashes with landowners, and resulting deaths and other forms of devastation.
The second question has to do with charges of ethnic cleansing by Fulani in Platue state..
In both cases, group social identity and lifestyle are at play, not the actions of few individuals.
In the first instance, nomadic husbandry is a group lifestyle, lived by a group, not by few members of that group.
Secondly, the Platue situation is a case of one ethnic group working in a systematic process agst others.
This situation is described as being made more problematic by the strength of Fulani in Nigerian politics, centrally placed Fulani being described ass working agst the resolution of these problems.
Its a systemic problem, not simply the actions of a few.
The systemic character of the problem is suggested by the debate over the right of the Fulani herdsmen to maintain this lifestyle or adopt fixed husbandry and the claim that the land allocated for this purpose in the North has been distributed by politicians.
Here is my reply:
I am sorry, but I disagree with what you write above. I am quite familiar with the Fulani, not only in Nigeria, but also in Cameroon and other countries in West Africa. It is true that a lot of Fulani are engaged in nomadic husbandry. Nevertheless, not all Fulani are so engaged. Even if they were, there is no evidence that the entire Fulani group in Nigeria is united behind the criminal activities undertaken by some of their members. To ascribe the activities of some individuals to an entire group is not only disingenuous but also a very dangerous way to approach inter-ethnic relations. Demonizing the Fulani is not an effective way to resolve the problems that currently plague Jos and surrounding areas. I am sorry, but what you write above does not fully explain what is happening in Jos and the Plateau State. The conflict in Jos is complex and requires a much more holistic analysis that what you present above.
On Tue, Sep 22, 2015 at 10:18 AM, Oluwatoyin Adepoju <toyinkaidara@gmail.com> wrote:
John,
With reference to more specfioc issues involving the Fulani in Nigeria, a central problem between Fulani herdsmen and other Nigerians has to do with their insistence on nomadic husbandry in world of sedentary communities, leading to frequent clashes with landowners, and resulting deaths and other forms of devastation.
The second question has to do with charges of ethnic cleansing by Fulani in Platue state..
In both cases, group social identity and lifestyle are at play, not the actions of few individuals.
In the first instance, nomadic husbandry is a group lifestyle, lived by a group, not by few members of that group.
Secondly, the Platue situation is a case of one ethnic group working in a systematic process agst others.
This situation is described as being made more problematic by the strength of Fulani in Nigerian politics, centrally placed Fulani being described ass working agst the resolution of these problems.
Its a systemic problem, not simply the actions of a few.
The systemic character of the problem is suggested by the debate over the right of the Fulani herdsmen to maintain this lifestyle or adopt fixed husbandry and the claim that the land allocated for this purpose in the North has been distributed by politicians.
thanks
toyin
On 22 September 2015 at 15:42, John Mbaku <jmbaku@weber.edu> wrote:
I am afraid I do not understand this claim about the Fulani. Why are the Fulani being held responsible for the actions of a few people? Individuals, and not the "tribes" or "ethnic groups" that they belong to, should be held responsible for their actions. If a person commits a crime, that person should be brought to book for his or her crimes. No tribe, nationality or ethnic group is responsible for the "destruction" of Nigeria. Individuals, from all walks of life and from all backgrounds and classes have contributed to the situation Nigeria finds itself in.
On Tue, Sep 22, 2015 at 4:43 AM, Oluwatoyin Adepoju <toyinkaidara@gmail.com> wrote:
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Ugo Harris Ukandu abujarock@gmail.com [Edo_Global] <Edo_Global@yahoogroups.com>
Date: 21 September 2015 at 17:40
Subject: Edo_Global. AFIS-- FULANI HAS SOME POWER ONLY IN NIGERIA AND HAVE ZERO POWER EVERYWHERE SCATTERED POOREST AND DESTITUTES IN 15 COUNTRIES EVERYWHERE ==FULANI ARE BORN TO RULE, IGBO ARE BORN TO CRY..........I am afraid of jail Tinibu...pics
To: Edo_Global@yahoogroups.com
It is interesting that only gullible Nigeria does Fulani have some political power. In the rest of the 15 or more countries they are scattered and live in Africa, they have zero power and are the most destitute and poorest African tribes in Africa. Maybe other African countries that have not given Fulani power know why, and maybe they have seen how Nigeria have been destroyed by a few minority including the Fulanis.
Fulani saw cunningly and used Nigeria as a gullible stupid nation of cowards and corrupt laden few that loots and steals from the people and nation. This is how few corrupt military people, few corrupt politicians, few families and few tribes looted and turn Nigeria into a basket case that is not working and will never work. Fulani is a small tribe in Nigeria of less than 10 million and because Nigeria is a corrupted entity that's why few can loot and corruptly corrupt the nation and they Fulani too are suffering because they constitutes among the poorest and most destitute of all tribes in Nigeria.
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The Fulani, the scattered people of West Africa By TAMBA JEAN-MATHEW | Monday, July 20 2015
http://www.africareview.com/Special-Reports/The-Fulani-the-scattered-people-of-West-Africa-/-/979182/2799876/-/h3osrr/-/index.html
Fulani girls in West Arica. PHOTO | BBC Monday, September 21, 2015In spite of their numerical advantage in West Africa, only a few of the Pulaar-speaking politicians have risen to the very top in their countries. Current exceptions are President Macky Sall of Senegal (who is of a mixed-parentage) and President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria.
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