From the Insanity of Fulani Herdsmen Terrorists to Rational Thinking: Why Modern Ranching should Rep

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Nomadic cattle grazing is more than a source of income but a way of life for people indulging in it. It remains common practice in Africa; the practice of the herders is to move with their cattle up north or on top mountains during the raining season and move down south or towards the valleys during the dry seasons. A strange aspect about nomadic cattle grazing is that cattle are not necessarily grazed on land owned by the herder. In fact it is quite crazy that nomadic herdsmen such as Fulani herdsmen in Northern Nigeria feel entitled to having their cattle graze on land not owned by them or by the Northern Oligarchs who often are the actual owners of the cattle. Armed Fulani herdsmen travel to southern regions of Nigeria where fertile lush land and healthy grass exist, for their cattle to craze on such land that is not theirs. To get access to such land, armed and violent Fulani herdsmen attack land owners, and most often savagely butchering them and raping their women. Since the land owners are usually not protected by Nigeria’s security operatives (while the Fulani herdsmen are armed and protected), the herdsmen are able to violenty take over farmlands and maliciously let their cattle eat and destroy crops, and essentially destroy planned future harvest of mostly peasant farmers. As insane as this may sound it is true and has been one of the deadliest form of terrorism that citizens of Nigeria in the southern regions have been dealing with, and hundreds have lost their precious lives as a result of their encounter with armed and violent Fulani herdsmen.

Climate change has posed a huge problem to nomadic cattle grazing especially in west and central Africa. A classic example is the drying up of the Lake Chad basin and expansion of the Sahara desert; the lake provided water for grazing and irrigation to the Northern parts of Nigeria, Northern parts of Cameroon and Chad. With the basin drying up herders in these countries are moving south were the Sahara desert is yet to encroach. This causes numerous problems not only between the grazers and farmers but the entire community who aren’t used to herders grazing in their community, especially since the Fulani herders are violent herdsmen who attack and savagely murder land and farm owners. In Ekitti state Nigeria, the Governor Ayo Fayose banned cattle grazing in his state, he emphasized that the farmers must own ranches. The sole reason behind this decision is not only that the cattle grazers are “destroying billions of Naira worth of crop produce” he says; it is because of the numerous “atrocities the herdsmen indulge in and the Government refusal to comment or take action on them.” The Nigeria Vanguard reported that armed herdsmen have become a feature of life in the Middle belt area of Nigeria over the last seven years. Recently local news outlets carried reports on a genocidal rampage of Agutu villages done by mercenaries in the pay of Fulani herdsmen and those who actually own the cattle and who fund the herdsmen; 300 hundred people were massacred, food, homes and churches were burned down leaving thousands of Agutu people displaced. These mortifying acts were all in retaliation to alleged “cattle theft” by the community which could not be substantiated with tangible evidence, and which many believe may have been a fabricated allegation. However, even if it were true, human lives are certainly worth more than cattle and no one deserves to lose their precious life because of cattle.. In April 2016, Fulani herdsmen attacked Nimbo Uzo-Uwani in Enugu State, Nigeria, a peaceful farming village, and savagely killed scores of men and women and burned down a Christian church making many wonder if they were using cattle herding and grazing as a cover to gain access to Christian communities and act out their Islamic extremism.

Photo credit: TRAC (Terrorism Research and Analysis Consortium)

These herdsmen carried out similar acts in Oyo, Plateau State, Adamawa State, Taraba State, Benue and Nassarawa States. Never denying the act and always raising the excuse of cattle theft which they believe gives them license to wipe out kinsmen of the accused perpetrators and communities. These acts of violence doesn’t pose only a security threat but the fragile unity of the country; The Nigerian Vanguard reports. As a solution to these frequent clashes the herdsmen have requested grazing reserves be designated and created by the Government; this idea has been goaded by the cattle owning oligarchs who are currently running the country. They argue that ranching is expensive and will require a lot of resources and man power they do not have.

Nomadic cattle grazing carry few benefits in our changing times. Seeing the effects of climate change the environment has to be better managed, and grazing has some damaging environmental effects. The soils become compacted due to trampling and pawing by cattle, this damages plant roots and causes plant roots to become concentrated near the soil surface and these soil changes may prevent plants from acquiring sufficient resources for vigorous growth. The same condition can and will lead to a soil crust disruption which have detrimental long term effects. The vegetative structure of plants is often changed by grazing; plant height, physical structures, canopy cover, and changed species composition to include structurally different types of plants. Breaking and beating down vegetation changes structure of plant communities.

On the effect on the cattle, grazing has very few benefits. The practice is foremost an outdated one, walking with cattle from hill to hill reduces the yield of meat and milk. Nomadic grazing exposes cattle to diseases, pestilence and natural disaster and because of how far they go, they are out of reach from veterinary help and scientific interventions that would protect them and increase their yield.

From the roaming cattle humans are being exposed to zoonotic diseases and affected by such diseases that affect humans, such as zoonotic tuberculosis, brucellosis, etc. It has been estimated that animal to human diseases kill about 2.2 million people yearly. In addition, Fulani herdsmen are often seen crossing major highways in major cities in Nigeria for example, causing unanticipated roadblocks and oftentimes fatal accidents. Why would anyone support the insanity of nomadic cattle grazing in the twenty first century, rather than adopting rationale and pragmatic ranching approach equipped with modern technology?

The practice of nomadic grazing is not only outdated but unsustainable, population growth is rapid and land uses around the cities have a higher opportunity cost which cannot permit nomadic grazing. The only reasonable long term solution is not grazing reserves which might face problems of population growth and desertification; ranching is the long term solution.

In the case of Nigeria ranching not only has positive benefits for the herder and the cattle but it will bring an end to cattle destroying farm lands which lead to “cattle rustling” or cattle theft mostly in northern areas, violent attacks and killings by Fulani herdsmen in the south, and destruction of communities and displacement of people. It is a fact that having cattle enclosed increases yield of meat and milk; they are subjected to less harsh conditions and will grow healthier as a consequence. The ranch doesn’t have to be highly sophisticated for a start but having an enclosed area, purchased land (owned by the cattle owners) in Northern Nigeria where cattle can be fed and proper medication given is the right thing to do in current circumstances.

References & links

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/05/ekiti-killings-fayose-bans-cattle-grazing-says-cattle-farmers-must-own-ranches/

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-36139388p://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-36139388

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/05/lets-tighten-borders-stop-illegal-grazing-atrocities/

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/02/070220145244.htm

https://www.fws.gov/invasives/stafftrainingmodule/methods/grazing/impacts.html

http://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=3073

http://www.livescience.com/21426-global-zoonoses-diseases-hotspots.html

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Ernie J. Burgher is a bi-lingual freelance journalist and author, and speaks English and French. Ernie writes for SitiTalkBlog.

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