Herdsmen killings: In whose interests?

Each day, they say, ‘is a gift to be opened up with rejoicing’. We go to sleep after the days troubles in hope to arise to a better tomorrow. However, tomorrow may not always come especially when you live in the Plateau and its environs. On June 24, the nation was greeted to disheartening news of residents in the Gushish district of Barkin Ladi Local Government Area of Plateau State being slaughtered in their sleep. These occurrences of killings by Fulani Herdsmen are fast becoming a norm in our Nigerian Society. It is no longer face to sleep with your two eyes closed, as disaster seemed to be lurking around every corner. Distrust has filled our minds towards our fellow citizens, we are fast losing faith and hope in our dear country. What hope can we that tell that young farmer to have who leaves his farm unsure if he would reap a harvest or if cows would be the ones to enjoy the produce of his land? What faith can we tell children to have in a country where are woken up in the dark of the night to be butchered by herdsmen? There have been lots of dusts raised concerning the incessant killings by the Fulani herdsmen. While other countries are gaining international recognition for economic growth and contributions to global development, Nigeria has gained a spot for itself in the international limelight for killings which the Nigerian government seems helpless in putting an end to.

At any given time it is reported that the Fulani Herdsmen has carried out their usual ritual of murdering fellow citizens in cold blood, a constant question keeps coming at me. A question which seems to be devoid of answers, a question that is fast becoming a rhetorical one to me. In whose interests are these killings carried out?  There have been a lot of undertones to the killings carried out by the Fulani herdsmen, various structures in the Nigerian setting have claimed that they are being targeted by these killings. While some groups have argued that the killings have a political undertone to it, some other fractions have boldly claimed that the killings are carried out for ethno-religious purposes and that a particular sect is been targeted by the killings.

President Buhari’s ‘silence’ over the issue has seemed to angered lots of the Nigerian population. The president who himself is of the Fulani ethnic group is presumed to be taking the sides of his ‘fellow brothers’ due to the lack of swift action on his part. Their position can be said to be greatly influenced by the decision of the government to create colonies for cattle rearers. Rearing of cattle is a business venture so why should people be deprived of their lands to satisfy the herdsmen, this acts seems to be the government favoring one side at the expense of the other. Furthermore, there have been clamors that resident of areas that are prone to attacks from the herdsmen be allowed to take up arms to protect themselves. This has met with a stiff opposition from the government that anyone caught with arms would face the penalty ,even though it have been reported that  Fulani herdsmen openly carry AK-47 a weapon for unleashing terror. What benefit does the government seem to be getting from Fulani herdsmen killings innocent citizens they have been charged to protect?

Why are the top officials of government security agencies such as the Nigerian Police and the Nigeris Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), still sitting in their offices and receiving their huge salaries when apparently they are not competent in the task they have been assigned with? However we cannot totally put on the blame on the government or claim that these attacks are been sponsored or backed by the current political administration. Killings by Fulani herdsmen have dated way back before the regime of President Buhari. Regimes dating way back to that of Former President Olusegun Obasanjo have all experienced killings of citizens by the Fulani herdsmen. This does not justify the lackadaisical attitude of the present government and security agents of the lives which they have been mandated to protect.

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Another dimension towards the killings in Plateau is the ethno-religious undertone it has. The killings are considered a move to Islamise Nigeria. States that have experienced these killings such as Plateau, Benue, are predominantly Christian states. The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has stated that the killings are carried out by Islamic fundamentalists disguising as Fulani herdsmen. The killings have been considered as a persecution on the Church and an attempt to erase Christianity from these states and Nigeria as a whole. Also the killings have been assumed to be an attempt by the Fulani’s to dominate the communities they attacked.

The Fulani are traditionally cattle rearers who move from one place to another looking for pasture for their cattle. Hence, it is only logical that the Fulani herdsman will be looking for rich fertile lands in order for his prized possession to survive. This will lead us to the next point, a point which looks at the killings from the economic undertone. Natural resources are very limited, there is always a constant struggle by man for the resources available to him. The areas which has been targeted by the Fulani herdsmen are areas which are very fertile, Benue for instance is regarded as the food basket of the nation This implies that the lands there would be very fertile which will be very desirous  to the cattle farmer who is looking for the very best for his cattle. Could it be that when the Fulani herdsmen enter into these communities, they are faced with a hostile environment by the farmers who believe the cattle pose a threat to their produce and the herdsmen, in a bid to survive, go violent, taking the land by force and creating a situation of ‘survival of the fittest’? Furthermore, Fulani herdsmen claim to be victims of cattle rustlers, and that their attacks are reprisals on the communities suspected to have stolen their cattle.

Putting an end to the killings regardless of whose interest is being served must be the paramount thing of the minds of Nigerians at a crucial time like this. We must be tolerant of others regardless of the differences. We must ensure that children are not made orphans at vulnerable ages. We must ensure that laborers enjoy the products of their hard work. We must all ensure that our country Nigeria becomes a safe haven for us again. Please lets put an end to the killings.

• Mofoluwaso is a sociologist currently a postgraduate student of Sociology at the University Of Ibadan.