BOKO HARAM DISGUISED AS HAUSA/FULANI HERDSMEN! – By Ugo Nwaokoro.

For years Fulani herdsmen have been allowed free access to our land in the southern and western parts of Nigeria to graze their cattle, as long as they are not on farmlands. In those days, the herdsmen were not armed with machine guns, all they had were long sticks with which they beat their animals into conformity. All of a sudden, in this era of the menace of Boko Haram, a bold and militant sets of herdsmen started pumping up in the south and west of Nigeria armed to the teeth with high powered guns uninterrupted by the people, the police or the military. Initially people assumed that the reason why they had the guns was to kill wild animals and scare off potential cattle thieves. We bought into this reason because they made us believe so.

Ever since we allowed these herdsmen to move around in the south and west of Nigeria with guns, it has been reckless killings of our people unprovoked. These raggedy Hausa/Fulani cattle marauders would go into people’s farms to graze their cattle thereby destroying people’s means of livelihood, and if the people should say anything or try to stop them they would be slaughtered with impunity. As if this is not bad and provocative enough, the so called armed Boko Haram Hausa/Fulani cattle marauders now go into villagers attacking and killing innocent people, women and children are not spared. Churches and schools are being burnt for no justifiable reasons.

All these brutal acts by these armed Hausa/Fulani Boko Haram disguised cattle marauders now begs the question, are these the same Hausa/Fulani cattle herdsmen that had been coexisting in the south and west with the owners of the land? The answer is a big FAT NO, THEY ARE NOT THE SAME, THESE ARE BOKO HARAM MEMBERS DISGUISED AS CATTLE HERDSMEN, here are the reasons;

1. Growing up in the south, west and eastern parts of Nigeria in the 70s, 80s and 90s, the Hausa Fulani herdsmen had no guns but they still moved around in the bushes in the midst of wild animals, in fact, we even had more wild animals then than we have now because of development, so the reason why they have guns now is not to protect themselves and their animals from predators.

2. In the 70s, 80s and 90s, the Hausa Fulani herdsmen respected people’s farms and would not allow their animals to graze on them. Now, they boldly go into people’s farms to graze as if the crops were planted for their animals to freely come to consume.

3. In the 70s, 80s and 90s, the then genuine Hausa Fulani herdsmen respected and valued the people, because the people are their customers, they would give out or sale at cheap prices other products that they brought back from the north. Now, the current Boko Haram Hausa/Fulani cattle marauders kill everything in sight and burn places of worship. If they kill all the people, who will now buy their cattle? So, it’s not about selling or protecting their cattle, there’s a hidden agenda, which is no longer hidden as evidenced by the senseless ethnic and religious killings.

4. Why are the Federal government and Law enforcement agents allowing them to move around the country freely with arms and causing national security issues? Security intelligence agenvies should have known that these cattle marauders are Boko Haram and stop them before they tear the country apart.

Now that the people of the southern part of Nigeria have known that these current armed Hausa Fulani herdsmen are disguised Boko Haram members and that there’s more to their presence than cattle grazing, we should immediately through our elected officials demand and pass a law that nobody including the Hausa Fulani cattle marauders except Law enforcement officers should have or been seen with machine guns, and if you are seen, you will be arrested. 

While we are waiting for the Federal government to take decisive action against this menace by the Hausa Fulani cattle marauders, the people of southern Nigeria should organize themselves into legal vigilante groups to protect their communities from further senseless Boko Haram style killings. These vigilante groups should be well armed to arrest and fight any herdsmen that goes into people’s farms to graze or comes into their communities with guns. They should arrest them and hand over to law enforcement.

People of the south must exercise their right of self defense especially in their own land.