So much has been said and written on the Fulani herdsmen; but nothing has been achieved. Every day, we wake up to the news of bloodshed caused by ever advancing bloodsucking migrants of Futa Djallon. Nigerian dailies already have templates where reporters only make few changes in location and number of casualties before breaking the news of the latest attack. From Abia to Zamfara, Abakaliki to Zaria, it is a tale of pains and rivers of blood, a palpable fear of who their next victims might be. Nigerians cannot but wish that this unfortunate chapter in our history goes behind us one day.
Abuja is denying their responsibility to defend citizens and at the same time rejecting ranching option. The local capitals where we exercise better influence are divided half and half between defending their people and hurting the presidency. But, whether these attacks will end or not depends largely on what the governors do.
If Fulani herdsmen were trusted allies, Umahi could have won them with his goodwill and saved his state. For whatever intent, Umahi has showered them with gifts, appointments and made them stakeholders in security sectors. “Ebonyi state is very peaceful and it is accommodating to our members. It has been so accommodating to our members even more than some Northern states of the federation,” confessed Bello Bodejo, National Chairman of Miyetti Allah Southeast and South-south while speaking in Abakaliki recently after his men paid Umahi back by killing four of his people dead and injuring others at Enyanwu Igwe-Igbeagu.
Yes, Umahi has strong reflexes to act swiftly whenever attacks occur but his security policy on herdsmen is reaction-prone and legally not protected too. Profiling the data of herdsmen as a way of averting their killings is like tagging all flies in public toilet with names to avoid their perching. Reading out rules of engagement inside Council Chamber is a class-prefect’s method in high school. Asking herdsmen not to carry machete is like stopping Lai from lying. Asking all herdsmen to enroll their children in school or face repatriation means they have come to stay. Little wonder, that resolution was never for a second obeyed by the herdsmen nor any arrest made.
The courageous act; the coward react. “We banned underage herders, we banned night grazing in the state. We have no grazing routes in Ebonyi, which means that nobody has the right to carry cattle by route to Ebonyi state and we agreed on that. We also agreed with the herdsmen that the first offender must be prosecuted. We also said that no farmer should go to farm with a gun and no herdsmen should rear cattle with gun or machete; it is stick. We must abide by these rules,” lamented Umahi after the latest attack.
This is the time for Umahi and his regional counterparts to come out clean on herdsmen policy and avoid ice-coating. What was the exact instruction given to Ebonyi traditional rulers on grazing areas, for instance? If the state says that its agricultural policy has put every available land into agricultural use, where does he expect the herdsmen to occupy peacefully? If there are no more to it than meet the eyes, why not make such security policy a legislative act? If the IPOB was proscribed in the region for creating security tension, why signing agreement with our killers?
Cold beer is good; hot tea is awesome; but no one likes either warm beer or tea. Neutrality is not a truth-value. One is either hot or cold. The Holy Writ says it will spit out anyone with lukewarm attitude.
In my community once lived a psychotic, Ikenga, not his real name. He was an occasion freak and never misses one. It was to be a windfall when two burials fell on the same date in two villages apart. Confused on which to grace first, he listened to cannon shots and made for village A. Getting closer, the heavy cannon shots from village B gave him the impression that refreshment was ready. He headed at once in that direction and midway to village B he learnt that refreshment had ended. Tired, he turned to village A and on the way met those returning. In the end, it turned out all bad for Ikenga.
Whether in Akaeze, Onicha, or Igbeagu, the herdsmen have tested the will of the people. This is time for Umahi to rise like a brother of an army general rather than as business politician with his colleagues and take a stand. They cannot defend their citizens while trying to please Abuja. We cannot serve God and mammon. No!
