FULANI HERDSMEN ATTACK YET AGAIN; WHEN WILL THIS END?

Growing up, we knew the Fulani herdsmen as nomadic people who moved from place to place with their cows.


Although we dared not touch their cows for fear of the unknown, we had no other reason to fear them.
The trend seems to have changed in no distant past. Last year we began seeing a change in their operations. We saw how Chief Olu Falae was kidnapped from his farm. This year, we heard of the Agatu killings by suspected herdsmen. We also heard of the Nimbo massacre by the suspected herdsmen. The Catholic Archbishop of Abuja. John Cardinal Onaiyekan escaped death by the whiskers at the hands of the herdsmen. These and many more are instances of the violent change in their operations. Many of them have become gun wielders, not for hunting wild animals but hunting human beings. The recent attack was early this morning when over 50 herdsmen invaded an agrarian Enugu community killing a Catholic Seminarian and slit the stomach of a six months pregnant woman. It occurred as early as 2.00 am.

The reason for this new found violent nature cannot be explained. Some say it is because of clashes with indigent farmers over grazing land for their cows. So when there is a disagreement between the herdsmen and indigent farmers, there could be a violent clash. This reason is not tenable. First, such a disagreement should not warrant violence. Secondly, how would one explain the attack of Cardinal Onaiyekan who was driving to Abuja from Edo state and had no business with either a farm nor their cows? What agricultural benefit would they have gained from kidnapping False? Although they were in his farm, they could simply have rendered him harmless and raided his farmland if it was the land that was the issue rather than kidnap him. What manner of desire for grazing land would have propelled them to commit the kind of atrocities they committed in Nimbo where about 500 herdsmen invaded the community as early as 5.15 am and killed about 40 persons (considering the timing, the number of invaders and the number of casualties)?  What urgent need for grazing land would make them kill over 300 people as they did in Agatu in Nasarawa state? What would have made them attack this Enugu community and kill a seminarian and a maim a PREGNANT WOMAN as at 2.00 am? The attacks are clearly premeditated and do not just happen by chance when they happen to clash with farmers. How many people farm at 2.00 am? Why do they attack in huge numbers when they are invading a community? If they come in peace, why are they wielding guns? These people obviously plan to wreak havoc on people and not just to tend their cows. They are Nigeria's latest terrorists.

Enough is enough for these people. The government must sit up and solve this problem. The Grazing Bill is not the only solution. They must retrieve the weapons that these terrorists wield. If the bill must be passed, all herdsmen must operate within the grazing reserves because not all these herdsmen want to feed their animals, they want to kill too. Putting all herdsmen in grazing reserves will ensure that anybody who attacks under the guise of being a herdsman is not truly a herdsman. Likewise, any herdsman found with his animals outside the reserve should be severely punished. Security agents should be put on alert as regards the activities of the herdsmen so as to monitor their movement. Where there are state government sponsored vigilantes, their functions should also extend to monitoring these people.
It is imperative to act now before it goes out of hand. History has proven that delay is dangerous. The Boko Haram insurgents became as deadly as they did because they were taken for granted. If we treat this matter with kid gloves, we may end up regretting. A stitch in time saves nine