Tackling Herders’ Attacks In Niger Delta
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It is always said that peace is priceless while violence is senseless. This saying is quite felicitous considering the prevailing peace that has existed in the Niger Delta region of the Nigerian state since aggrieved youths of the region embraced peace more than a decade ago. Not many Nigerians may have forgotten so soon that the Niger Delta used to be synonymous with violence especially with attacks on oil and gas installations due to perceived marginalization and maltreatment of its people by the federal government and multinational companies operating in the area.
Such violent attacks had grave consequences on the nation’s mono-economy which is centred on oil. The country was losing millions of barrels of crude oil to pipeline vandalism and disruption of oil and gas exploration and exploitation in the oil rich region by youths of the area who agitated against environmental degradation, none employment of Niger Deltans in the oil and gas industry among other remonstration.
At a point, in the heat of the agitations, expatriates were leaving the then troubled Niger Delta region in drove as a result of insecurity while the nation’s economy suffered. The only saving grace was a call to discussion table of the peeved youths by the federal government led by late President Musa Yar’Adua wich resulted in the existing Amnesty Programme. Since the boys laid down their arms and embraced the amnesty programme, the region has been enjoying relative peace with oil production going on uninterrupted.
However, the ephemeral stability in the Niger Delta seems to be seriously threatened by some unhealthy activities of the nomadic Fulani Herdsmen in some parts of the region.
Recently, hundreds of female farmers took to the streets of Yenagoa, the capital city of Bayelsa state, to protect alleged invasion of their farmlands as well as destruction of crops by the Fulani Herders and their cattle. During the protest, the women appealed to the state government and the security agencies to come to their rescue as their only source of livelihood, which is farming, has been endangered by activities of the cattle rearers.
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While the police and the government of Bayelsa state are struggling to put an end to the reported invasion of farmlands and destruction of crops by the nomads, the marauding herders struck again last week, leaving a father and his son fatally injured at Kohgi Bush, Otuoke in Ogbia Local Government Area of the state over alleged missing cow.
The latest strike by the aggressive herdsmen has further heightened tension in the volatile Niger Delta region. The pan Ijaw youth group under the aegis of Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) has already called on ljaw youths in all parts of the Niger Delta to rise and defend their territories against any external aggression. This, indeed, calls for worry considering the strategic nature of the Niger Delta to the economic well being of the nation.
We commend the leadership of the ljaw youth council for calling on the youths to avoid any action of reprisal attacks on the herders. Be that as it may, the IYC made a salient point by calling on the relevant authorities to ensure that those herdsmen behind the recent unwarranted attacks on the father and his son in Bayelsa state are brought to book as a way of calming frayed nerves in the region.
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It is based on the foregoing that we join the rest of other critics to condemn the recent call by the Governor of Bauchi state, Bala Mohammed on the Hausa Fulanis to defend themselves in any way possible. Such unguarded utterances coming from highly placed individuals and government officials can only result in the mindless attacks and killing of fellow citizens by the herders as being witnessed across the nation.
While we commend the Bayelsa state government for allotting over 1,200 acres of land as cattle grazing area, the animal rearers on their part, should confine their cattle to the area reserved for them by the state government for gracing. In the course of doing their personal business, the Fulani herdsmen must respect the source of livelihood and sanctity of other human lives as clearly enshrined in the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Should they suspect any case of cattle rustling, the cattle rearers should immediately report to the nearest security agents for necessary actions instead of taking the laws into their hands, knowing that they do not have the monopoly of violence. Those in the habit of cattle rustling, if there are any, should also desist from the act forthwith.
The federal government should wake up from its long slumber and find a lasting solution to the worrisome herders/farmers clashes in the country. Most especially, the federal government should avoid anything that is capable of reawakening another round of hostilities in the Niger Delta. To keep the elusive peace in the oil rich region and sustain the current smooth production of crude oil, the nation must nip in the board the rising cases of herdsmen attacks on Niger Deltans. A stitch in time, they say, saves nine.