It is very important while attempting to comment on issues of high emotional value (like community and religious crises), to start on a very good and neutral note. This gesture, being a necessary and a goodwill antidote to the already heightened emotional outpouring and probable tensions in the hearts and minds of listeners or readers. Therefore, and for the record, the writer of this article holds no single anger, grudge or resentment towards Fulani people in general. And why should I?

It is very important while attempting to comment on issues of high emotional value (like community and religious crises), to start on a very good and neutral note. This gesture, being a necessary and a goodwill antidote to the already heightened emotional outpouring and probable tensions in the hearts and minds of listeners or readers. Therefore, and for the record, the writer of this article holds no single anger, grudge or resentment towards Fulani people in general. And why should I?

Nomadic herdsmen have been with us in Nigeria for a very long time now. The practice of yearly migrations from the dryer north down southwards has been with us for so long that the writer, being a nonentity as far history is concerned, cannot attempt to pen down any meaningful dates and times of significant events relating to the origins of this migration trend. And such is not necessary for this our present distress. In Nigeria, we also have other migration patterns; it is not exclusive to the Fulani race, but they remain chief among all of such yearly migrants. And this pattern of livelihood can better be captured in the widely acclaimed and epic novel of legendary Nigerian writer of Igbo decent, Cyprain Ekwensi’s “Burning Grass”. As a people also, we have lived and co-habited with the Fulanis. Year-in, year-out we used to send our kith and kin to accompany this or that Fulani tribal clan or family head (leader) on their journeys southwards to return the following year with proceeds of his labour. For some of us that didn’t dare venture on such expeditions however, we carved out areas of our lands and chased off prospective and new Fulanis that might want to freely graze on such farmlands, all to be able to maintain the same grounds for the one other Fulani we had already built a good relationship with. From the Berom people, to the Tiv, plus the Mupun, and the Mwagavul, the Gbagi, Taroh, and so on. (That was before things got ugly, if you’re in the know). I once had a friend back then at the Gindiri Missions Compound who would allow us come near the dreaded cattle herd and even attempt to milk a breastfeeding cow. “Those were the days, my friend, we thought will never end”, in the words of one of country music’s best – Dolly Parton. But alas, such days are now shattered & gone, just like that! And what do we see now? The Fulani race is actively engrossed in this and that conflict from Borno down to Abia states; but chiefly, among the north central states or preferably called the Middle-Belt region of Nigeria. These uprisings, mostly over trespasses on crop farming areas or accusations and counter accusations of cattle rustling, whether in Ibadan, or in Delta state, or Plateau, FCT, Benue or Borno, all have one common denominator – that Fulani race is involved. And that is truly a bad common denominator. Yet, I dare to state and remind us, that these happenings and events were not so!

Over the years, the National Assembly has been tinkering with the idea of a bill that allows for lands to be carved out from any area of choice by the National Government, and designated as “Grazing Reserves”. These lands, when carved out, will be issued back to nomadic herdsmen for their private use in raising and catering for the welfare of the Fulani race and cattle in Nigeria. Of course, a commission or agency to manage these reserves will be instituted and funded by a national allocation (and national allocations start from billions of Naira). This bill is chiefly sponsored in the Senate by Senator Zainab Kure from Niger state. It was even drummed on FRCN on Wednesday 26th March, 2014 that facilities on the over 400 grazing reserves will be upgraded. And at the end, it is hoped, guessed or wished that such a creation (by law and not by the present practice of being at the discretion of state & local governments) will automatically end the spade of violence involving the Fulanis and all other indigenous tribes. That is the assumption and hope. And if such will permanently put an end to such violence, then by all means positive, let’s do it. But the real and simple question remains; will it?

First of all, the bill (and other pressure groups like the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria – MACBAN) sought to infer that nomads are, and cannot do without their culture of yearly migrations and to proffer that in denying them the rights to freely move and graze, any person or government(s) will be denying them a fundamental human right guaranteed by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Section 41 subsection 1 which states that “every citizen is entitled to move freely throughout Nigeria and to reside in any part thereof and no citizen of Nigeria shall be expelled from Nigeria or refused entry thereof or exit therefrom”. But these observations and happenings, in the writer’s opinion, beg for more issues and questions than they actually proffer any solutions.

1. The bill has no way of guaranteeing that farmlands which don’t fall within designated grazing reserves are protected from being grazed upon by the Fulani cattle. This is because more emphasis was laid upon the protection of the nomads and their interests, than in really checkmating the occurrence of crises in the whole process. Therefore, as a solution to crises, the national grazing reserves bill grossly falls short of required expectations.

2. The Fulani herdsmen and nomads have not been genuinely and representatively brought up on any occasion, through mass appeal or by enforcement of existent laws to agree to terms and rules of engagement prior to any sponsorship of said bill & the possible creation of such grazing reserves. Be reminded that most of these nomadic Fulani are not literate people and actually cannot be traced to specific roots if crises were to break out. For instance, majority of the Fulani nomads residing in Benue state have since the inception of these spade of killings, relocated to other states, within seconds, at the instincts and command of their family head (leaving behind only the warlords). This position makes it very difficult, if not impossible for the Tiv people, whom it is clearly known, are found in Benue state to really hold a genuine truce, peace and reconciliation meeting with any truly aggrieved of the Fulani race. The truce is more often brokered by the warlords, who normally are in the business of truce breaking for financial gain. Little wonder the Fulanis hardly ever honour any of such truces.

3. To create grazing reserves that shall be run by government, through an agency or MDA, and at the expense of our collective national purse and for the benefits of a segment of the society is simply unfair, and grossly wrong, especially to other kinds of farmers like pig farmers, fish farmers, maize farmers, potato farmers, and a host of other types of farms and farmers that we have in Nigeria. And if government were to embark on such financially demanding ventures, will the proceeds from the sales of meat and dairy be shared or even taxed? And what grounded assurances do we have to guarantee such? Remember that the CBN asserts that agriculture in Nigeria is not actually taxed, therefore most of these Fulani and other types of farmers only pay stipends to an association, or some cunning individuals/groups but government benefits almost nothing from all small to medium scale agricultural farming in Nigeria. And the far reaching implications being that maize, rice, cassava, pig, fish or cocoa farmers can one day raise with arms in order to get government funding and/or demand a self-cause.

4. Grazing reserves, if created by law, cannot and will not be a sustainable venture. Writers and history have categorically stated that government’s direct involvement, globally, in agriculture always fails. Easy cases are sparklingly available to see in Nigeria. An account on how Britain spent Millions of Pound Sterling on agricultural initiatives after the World War II to produce cooking oil from groundnuts (peas) in their African colonies leaves the reader or listener in such a state of awe as to how governments, the world over, can be so wasteful and not rational, or maybe deliberate when attempting to embark on these ventures. Agriculture is best left in the hands of private individuals/firms and can, at best, be strategically subsidized.

5. Not all Fulani are Nigerian, therefore the rights guaranteeing Nigerians do not apply to them. Simple.

In conclusion, and as a way of recommendation, the Federal and state Governments of Nigeria have quite a lot of options if the true resolution of these rising crises and incessant killings is their goal. And these options can also be enumerated by its flamboyantly paid aides, assistants, advisers, etc. But common sense, it is often said, is not common. Therefore;

1. Instead of a bill to create grazing reserves, nomadic Fulani, should first of all be banned from their roaming (which they claim as a cultural way of life) because it is by so doing, that they get involved with the numerous communities and ethnic nationalities as evident at the moment. Nigeria is a sovereign nation and as one, it has the right to protect itself from other interests that seek to divide it, whether external or internal (Nationalism course, GENS 201 – Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria 2003). It should even protect itself against a section of itself, and that’s that.

2. The Fulani, in their wandering, have built for themselves (and over the years) a very archaic and unproductive method of raising animals, unlike what is obtainable globally. The species of Cattle we have in Nigeria; the white Fulani cattle (Bunaji), the Red Bororo (Rahaji),the Sokoto Gudali (Bokoloji), the Kuri, Wadara, Keteku, Muturu, Adamawa Gudali, etc., have some of the least weighted cattle in the world due to constant migration and movements. And the quality of beef in the Nigerian market is indeed lower than what is now obtainable globally due to research and more knowledge in such fields of endeavor. Experts have argued that with a more organized system of raising livestock, cattle farmers, other farmers, non farmers and government all stand to gain because the technology is now available to individually drill for water and irrigate cheaply bought farmlands in rural settlements within Nigeria, to grow and culture grass, legumes and other animal food types that can feed the Fulani cattle all year round and truly put an end to all Fulani related commotions presently being experienced. It works in Australia, USA, Germany, Saudi Arabia, and a host of other deliberately progressive countries. Why not in Nigeria? And if “the way of life” is the reason for allowing these people to wander about, then our traditionalists in Nigeria should also be constitutionally guaranteed to continue slaughtering and offering humans to their gods during their acts of worship.

Government has often differed and postponed the days of doom in Nigeria by embarking on the wrong policies. Repaying a wrong person, an offender, or committers of not appropriate acts with lavish and goodly rewards only breeds more problems and other problems in the long run. If Nigeria hopes to have a better one hundred years to come, these must be assessed. And if true conflict resolution is the goal for all these much political talk on grazing reserves, then more caution needs be imbibed within the whole process. But perhaps there are other hidden agenda to all these conflicts?

May God grant us the wisdom to adequately see and rightly perform what we ought to do. God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

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FULANI NOMADS, GRAZING RESERVES AND THE PROSPECTS OF PEACE IN NIGERIA – By Makji Dajwal