tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35572300575699161212024-02-20T17:16:58.473-08:00MOVEMENT AGAINST FULANI OCCUPATION (MAFO) speak up against the killing of innocent Nigerians by fulani herdsmen.JUYTREhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00353346671065968857noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3557230057569916121.post-54023700169800493252016-04-25T13:06:00.001-07:002016-04-25T13:06:46.957-07:00CALL FOR CONGRESS<p dir="ltr">There is going to be a <u>MAFO</u> general congress scheduled as follow:</p>
<p dir="ltr">Date: Wednesday, 27th April 2016<br>
Time: 4pm<br>
Venue: Steam Bar, (beside former Jamb office) GRA, Makurdi.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Please endeavor to attend, and bring someone with you.</p>
JUYTREhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00353346671065968857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3557230057569916121.post-52015973952142956122016-04-19T14:30:00.001-07:002016-04-19T15:50:29.976-07:00IT TAKES MASS MURDER TO RAISE CATTLE IN NIGERIA<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO86KBnsdx9CoCytXNRfCa0KER95b8uiKpEohW_LYCyYHyhpqpVndEIHalvmDPGZBQTI_qKnsZiCoHrRleRSW2iSpJ8ItJeEBp99UJ3Bh6s-4TleCIfRkuAZOa5ECeqL7_C71BY38qAsI/s1600/FB_IMG_1460540190676.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO86KBnsdx9CoCytXNRfCa0KER95b8uiKpEohW_LYCyYHyhpqpVndEIHalvmDPGZBQTI_qKnsZiCoHrRleRSW2iSpJ8ItJeEBp99UJ3Bh6s-4TleCIfRkuAZOa5ECeqL7_C71BY38qAsI/s320/FB_IMG_1460540190676.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
The Fulani herds men have succeeded in<br />
turning a normal process of raising cattle<br />
into one which involves spilling the blood<br />
of the innocent to raise cattle.Thus the<br />
need to stop buying and eating cow meat<br />
in all its forms, as doing so will be<br />
endorsing murder.<br />
1. The cow is born<br />
2. It is taken to the #farms and #villages<br />
of Benue people by herdsmen to feed.<br />
3. The #farmers reject the destruction of<br />
their #farms and #livelihood and #streams<br />
to feed cattle.<br />
4. Fulani herds men (armed with AK47s<br />
and machetes) then #kill the farmers and<br />
their wives and children, and chase them<br />
away from their villages. The cow now has<br />
#free food to eat and grow.<br />
5. The grown cow is sold (very<br />
expensively) and killed.<br />
6. We buy it as meat or suya or killishi or<br />
pepersoup etc –<br />
7. Then the #money we use to #buy the<br />
meat is used to buy more #arms to<br />
#secure grazing sites for more fulani<br />
cattle, and enrich the elite owners.., and<br />
the cycle continues.<br />
NOTE: Fulani herdsmen are above the law.<br />
They have never been arrested by the<br />
government for those killings.<br />
#SayNoToTheFulaniKillings<br />
#SaveBenueFarmers<br />
#BoycottBeef<br />
#YesWeCan<br />
Ahile kashami Ahile and Sam Ijoho</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
JUYTREhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00353346671065968857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3557230057569916121.post-80787773092339294692016-04-15T16:37:00.001-07:002016-04-18T03:56:23.968-07:00THE FULANI PLAGUE: ANINDICTMENT OF TIVLEADERSHIP<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkNbs12hfCBka2grg4RdjBMI_xgAA12LADVGZswSfjSx73538fKsWtSFR-9HEPc2jfUcP1jjEY9moUDHu15oUEKtc_hakzmxKBhBfUMSXdLkG5YEL9q26eXvK_IedBeUoRNatUqiKgwmo/s1600/MAFA2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkNbs12hfCBka2grg4RdjBMI_xgAA12LADVGZswSfjSx73538fKsWtSFR-9HEPc2jfUcP1jjEY9moUDHu15oUEKtc_hakzmxKBhBfUMSXdLkG5YEL9q26eXvK_IedBeUoRNatUqiKgwmo/s320/MAFA2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div dir="ltr">
</div>
<a name='more'></a>It is said that activity or movement does<br />
not necessarily translate to progress, and<br />
peculiar problems require peculiar<br />
solutions. There has been a lot of activity<br />
employed to bring a lasting solution to the<br />
continuous attacks on Tiv people by Fulani<br />
herds men, whom have over the years<br />
transformed from peace loving, stick and<br />
sword caring men, to machine gun wielding<br />
terrorists. Who employ both physical and<br />
supernatural means to kill, destroy and<br />
displace those whose villages they have<br />
grazed through for decades.<br />
The reasons for this violence, apart from<br />
obvious terrorism and acquisition of<br />
grazing land and dominance, range from<br />
attacks by Tiv men on cows, which on<br />
many occasions destroy farm produce<br />
belonging to these Tiv men, provoking<br />
them into retaliation. Others include<br />
disagreements over use and ownership of<br />
lands, which are allocated to these Fulani<br />
men by traditional rulers in those localities.<br />
In many cases the allocation of these lands<br />
is not in accordance with the wishes of<br />
other members of the locality, while in<br />
other situations Fulani herds men encroach<br />
on lands that are not allocated to them,<br />
The approaches that have been used to<br />
tackle this tragedy have mostly been,<br />
reactionary, cosmetic, short term and some<br />
even counterproductive. Despite all the<br />
blood that has been shed and the atrocities<br />
committed by this men, Fulani men<br />
wielding swords still walk our markets<br />
unafraid and graze through our towns and<br />
villages as though all is well .<br />
A problem of this magnitude cannot be<br />
solved by an uncoordinated or<br />
unwholesome approach; this continuous<br />
assault must first be recognized for what it<br />
is, an insult and assault to and on the<br />
entire Tiv race. Thus, for this problem to<br />
be put to a final stop, the approach must<br />
change from talk, committees, reports and<br />
arming of militias, to something more<br />
proactive and long lasting. The entire Tiv<br />
race, championed by all its leaders,<br />
irrespective of affiliations or sentiments<br />
must come together with one purpose and<br />
an unyielding resolve to ensure the end of<br />
this senseless massacre. A well thought<br />
out and permanent plan or solution must<br />
be forged and then implemented with<br />
ruthless efficiency. Such a plan or solution<br />
should involve traditional and political<br />
leaders, the legislature, the federal<br />
government, the security forces, the Fulani<br />
community, civil right organizations,<br />
leaders of neighboring states, and all<br />
Benue sons and daughters of influence,<br />
home and abroad.<br />
Now sadly, while Fulani herds men<br />
constantly kill, rape, destroy farms and<br />
produce and displace our people from their<br />
villages, our leaders carry on with their<br />
lavish political life styles as if all is well,<br />
these people who are victims of terror have<br />
house of assembly members, at the federal<br />
and state levels, they have chairmen and<br />
councilors, they have a governor, But their<br />
plight is worse than that of a people who<br />
do not have an identity or representation,<br />
the leadership seem to be disconnected<br />
with the realities these people face. The<br />
fear of being attacked and killed at any<br />
time and losing their only source of food<br />
and income, their farms, is clear and<br />
present. Some of those who run into town<br />
are left with no choice but to live in<br />
uncompleted buildings around town, many<br />
young women become prostitutes to feed<br />
themselves and family while boys take to<br />
crime. But how can our leaders know this?<br />
they seldom visit these places, as soon as<br />
they are elected, they become larger than<br />
life, they are mostly in Abuja or Jerusalem<br />
or Dubai or celebrating birthdays and<br />
thanks giving’s at every other date and too<br />
busy being too busy.<br />
While their people perish, they indulge in<br />
petty political rivalry, power tussle and<br />
politics of greed and self-interest; they do<br />
not remember the reason why they were<br />
even elected, till it is another election<br />
season. On another hand, most Tiv youths<br />
have lost all sense of belonging and<br />
responsibility to their father land and<br />
people; they have followed the path of our<br />
politicians and shamelessly fight<br />
themselves over crumbs that fall from the<br />
tables of their masters.<br />
Even more sad is the fact that our people<br />
have this – “as long as it does not affect<br />
me directly, it is not my business”<br />
approach to all problems facing their<br />
society and this ignorant ideology has<br />
caused lot of setbacks to us as a people.<br />
Problems that can only be tackled with<br />
unity and collective effort cannot be solved<br />
because our people are disunited and not<br />
concerned about their fellow man, until one<br />
of them is eventually directly affected.<br />
When this happens the rest sympathize<br />
and move on. The Tiv people of old where<br />
know to be united and known to hid the<br />
“Ayatutu” cry of their brothers, “one for all<br />
and all for one”. Sadly, the capable and<br />
influential Tiv people seem to be more<br />
concerned with the selfish interests or<br />
spoils that can be gotten from politics than<br />
the collective advancement, image and<br />
survival of their race, while many others,<br />
especially the academia, are not concerned<br />
at all.<br />
Traditional structures that ought to be our<br />
last defense against bad leadership and<br />
external forces have fallen and lost its<br />
voice, due to greed, and partisan politics.<br />
Fulani herds men have killed hundreds and<br />
displaced thousands of Tiv people, while<br />
destroying properties worth billions, they<br />
attacked the home of the late Tor Tiv some<br />
time ago and till today meetings are<br />
continuously being held, committees being<br />
formed and funded and reports and<br />
statements made, while the Fulani continue<br />
to attack, kill, rape and occupy our<br />
farmlands, the same lands where our<br />
ancestors grew the food that fed us, thesame lands where our ancestors lay buried, possibly wondering what has gone wrong with their children.<br />
+2348135465364<br />
andrewahile@gmail.comJUYTREhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00353346671065968857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3557230057569916121.post-61013515733414897082016-04-15T16:34:00.001-07:002016-04-18T03:55:09.392-07:00IT TAKES MASS MURDER TORAISE CATTLE IN NIGERIA<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzH9GZ934LgWH4eDzz0w5tPcfRLN3ba7bknF8L8GEhgGd-yoqgnPTxM6NmCZEOWd8UE-sFCJb4upJWDGBbrg0l4FBsJxlDdN9Lft2i0Z-2bwr8eDWpSC8K7jlFUTHp3n3WrXHwr1-cj0A/s1600/blogger-image--1605708873.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzH9GZ934LgWH4eDzz0w5tPcfRLN3ba7bknF8L8GEhgGd-yoqgnPTxM6NmCZEOWd8UE-sFCJb4upJWDGBbrg0l4FBsJxlDdN9Lft2i0Z-2bwr8eDWpSC8K7jlFUTHp3n3WrXHwr1-cj0A/s320/blogger-image--1605708873.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div dir="ltr">
</div>
<a name='more'></a>The Fulani herds men have succeeded in<br />
turning a normal process of raising cattle<br />
into one which involves spilling the blood<br />
of the innocent to raise cattle.Thus the<br />
need to stop buying and eating cow meat<br />
in all its forms, as doing so will be<br />
endorsing murder.<br />
1. The cow is born<br />
2. It is taken to the #farms and #villages<br />
of Benue people by herdsmen to feed.<br />
3. The #farmers reject the destruction of<br />
their #farms and #livelihood and #streams<br />
to feed cattle.<br />
4. Fulani herds men (armed with AK47s<br />
and machetes) then #kill the farmers and<br />
their wives and children, and chase them<br />
away from their villages. The cow now has<br />
#free food to eat and grow.<br />
5. The grown cow is sold (very<br />
expensively) and killed.<br />
6. We buy it as meat or suya or killishi or<br />
pepersoup etc –<br />
7. Then the #money we use to #buy the<br />
meat is used to buy more #arms to<br />
#secure grazing sites for more fulani<br />
cattle, and enrich the elite owners.., and<br />
the cycle continues.<br />
NOTE: Fulani herdsmen are above the law.<br />
They have never been arrested by the<br />
government for those killings.<br />
#SayNoToTheFulaniKillings<br />
#SaveBenueFarmers<br />
#BoycottBeef<br />
#YesWeCan<br />
Ahile kashami Ahile and Sam IjohoJUYTREhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00353346671065968857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3557230057569916121.post-91094421294245524882016-04-15T16:27:00.001-07:002016-04-18T03:54:07.061-07:00THEY DID NOT GIVE US ANY COWBy Maik Ortserga<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1L_-BfYPDETbYCTl5ZISQBSYy3YtTB1e4XvoRh5W6wFK1yxrfhbswak0M7XpmjWg6t4qhg0n7wzaJ_vAKS4-cOWWMj9NUFh6vWGXMTNpv0_bjq2ZkLMdt35hlzxXEMia0zxn9fZ82xv4/s1600/MAFO3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1L_-BfYPDETbYCTl5ZISQBSYy3YtTB1e4XvoRh5W6wFK1yxrfhbswak0M7XpmjWg6t4qhg0n7wzaJ_vAKS4-cOWWMj9NUFh6vWGXMTNpv0_bjq2ZkLMdt35hlzxXEMia0zxn9fZ82xv4/s320/MAFO3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div dir="ltr">
</div>
<a name='more'></a>Centuries before Nigeria came into existence through colonial apparatus, the Tiv people in their wanderings are said to have come into contact with the Fulani cattle herders. According to the lie as peddled by several sources, the two groups became friends, and as a mark of their friendship, the Fulani gave their Tiv friends a cow before they departed the Tiv enclave. When they came back years later, hoping to see the cow multiplied, they were surprised that the Tiv could only say ‘‘munchi’’ a word meaning ‘‘we have eaten’’ in Hausa language. This episode is said to have earned the Tiv the name ‘‘Munchi’’ from their Fulani friends. What if you realize now that all you have been told about this Tiv-Fulani story is a sham?<br />
History sometimes can be mischievous. I do agree with the theory propounded by writers like Kpamor J.T Orkar and Dr. Moses Tsenongu that the Fulani at no point in our history gave us their agundu cow. I find it difficult to believe that the Fulani who attach so much value to their cows, rating one cow above hundreds of human lives, the same Fulani who as experience has shown would hardly give out any cow except it is dead, would graciously have given the Tiv a cow.<br />
And come to think of it. The Tiv of the yesteryears would hardly kill any domestic animal and eat it for mere fun. Although they were breeders of chickens, goats, ducks etc., they would hardly kill any for consumption unless they had a visitor, how much more killing a whole cow merely for eating sake. I take this with a pinch of salt.<br />
Even the fact that they chose a Hausa word instead of a word in their own Fulfude language to call us ‘‘Munchi’’does not hold water. More so, this event is said to have taken place before the colonialists came to elevate the status of Hausa above other languages. My friend Iorliam Shija, the historian will attest to this fact. Why then would the Tiv fail to learn a smattering of the Fulani language enough to have use it in response to their friend instead of the Hausa word ‘‘Munchi.’’<br />
What happened to our bua-Tiv that we would have gone for the Fulani’s agundu? I want to state here that they did not give us any cow.JUYTREhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00353346671065968857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3557230057569916121.post-52689323556893645092016-04-15T03:24:00.001-07:002016-04-18T03:53:00.342-07:00When We Began, A Lot Of People Adjudged Us FOOLS.By Kamo Sende<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgioISGrKsJE0xZAdrAlkXesADi9hM_wTTQwQ7z2BSsIB51f53BYromS9nusLaj1FUhgiwdFJbkVJW98mK0jJegrU1ZZ8RFmn1wV-SjjIu6vKJqqB4pPu70Qru04hdBvRi0oyFcIlasZI4/s1600/blogger-image--1861914366.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgioISGrKsJE0xZAdrAlkXesADi9hM_wTTQwQ7z2BSsIB51f53BYromS9nusLaj1FUhgiwdFJbkVJW98mK0jJegrU1ZZ8RFmn1wV-SjjIu6vKJqqB4pPu70Qru04hdBvRi0oyFcIlasZI4/s320/blogger-image--1861914366.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
<div dir="ltr">
</div>
<a name='more'></a>When we first began, a lot of people adjudged us FOOLS. They wondered how a simple hashtag could make progress for us. They told us a lot of reasons why we could not make it.. We were not deterred by their bad energy. <br />
<div dir="ltr">
Then our campaign grew and they began to intensify their negative energy, they took to the social media to ridicule us and cut down our progress, little did they know that they were fueling our own progress in this scarcity days... </div>
<div dir="ltr">
Then we had a successful press rally that got the attention of the world and they couldn't find anything more to place as guilt on us, so they resorted to the one thing that divides us, "Politics". They gave us a political colouration and we came out unharmed. </div>
<div dir="ltr">
Then our base grew stronger and they assumed positions of advisers telling us the name to adopt and why our #BoyCottBeef campaign shouldn't have been part of it. <br />
Like always we ignored their ignorance. </div>
<div dir="ltr">
Now we had the most successful March in #Benue history and the detractors have found nothing on us... <br />
I heard one say, it is because of our activities that the Jukun are fighting the Tiv. I have never heard something more pathetic. Well...</div>
<div dir="ltr">
Ladies and gentlemen, if a collection of FOOLS can set sail and stay afloat for this long then such house of fools is where I belong. <br />
If a project that is dead on arrival stays aboard for this long then I want to engage in it. <br />
Many atimes the people who posit themselves critics have never had anything successful their whole lives, from marriages to political sympathies. <br />
Now they are neglecting the one opportunity to get it right. </div>
<div dir="ltr">
Fellow Compatriots, <br />
#MAFO has come to stay. <br />
We have crossed the line where we can be taken aback. <br />
Hate can only make us stronger. <br />
Unlike other affiliations the door to #MAFO is always open. <br />
A time will come when people will be judged by their positions when their people stood under test. <br />
When that time comes, We will remember your position. <br />
Until then, #MAFO has more cooking and we cannot be stopped. <br />
As Beans Dun Done, Moi Moi Must To Smell... </div>
<div dir="ltr">
~Kamo Sende</div>
JUYTREhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00353346671065968857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3557230057569916121.post-90866221242580923142016-04-15T02:56:00.001-07:002016-04-18T03:51:47.425-07:00TIMELINE OF FULANIATTACKS ON BENUE STATEFROM 2013 – 2016 By Sam Ijoho<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVnkQaTVDEwEbzpDg7GSVylfWM-2BKWvQX6HrDNJJ5VofPWvi3paS9T23SQOGiF0Ky7P7WR_9Ur5PNW7jughs-3naU_tA8hU4snelxJGmrTWDHZB4_vITFRqnAvN-GfCSNrLupF30bp8w/s1600/FB_IMG_1460540190676.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVnkQaTVDEwEbzpDg7GSVylfWM-2BKWvQX6HrDNJJ5VofPWvi3paS9T23SQOGiF0Ky7P7WR_9Ur5PNW7jughs-3naU_tA8hU4snelxJGmrTWDHZB4_vITFRqnAvN-GfCSNrLupF30bp8w/s320/FB_IMG_1460540190676.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div dir="ltr">
</div>
<a name='more'></a>1.April 23 2013.<br />
10 farmers killed in an attack on<br />
Mbasenge community in Guma LGA by<br />
suspected herdsmen.<br />
2.<br />
May 7, 2013.<br />
47 mourners gunned down in Agatu while<br />
burying two policemen killed the Tuesday<br />
before in Nassarawa<br />
3.<br />
May 14, 2013.<br />
Over 200 herdsmen surround Ekwo-<br />
Okpanchenyi, Agatu LGA killing 40 locals.<br />
4.<br />
July 5, 2013.<br />
20 people were killed in a conflict between<br />
Tiv farmers & herdsmen at Nzorov,Guma<br />
LGA, Benue state.<br />
5.<br />
July 28, 2013.<br />
in retaliation to the killing of 112 cows,<br />
herdsmen invade 2 villages in Agatu LGA<br />
killing 8 villagers.<br />
6.<br />
November 7, 2013.<br />
Attackers strike at Ikpele & Okpopolo<br />
communities killing 7 and displacing over<br />
6000 inhabitants.<br />
7.<br />
Nov 9, 2013.<br />
36 locals killed and 7 villages overrun in<br />
an outbreak of fighting between herdsmen<br />
& locals in Agatu LGA.<br />
8.<br />
Nov 20, 2013.<br />
Attack on communities in Guma LGA,<br />
killing 22 locals and destroying properties<br />
worth millions of naira.<br />
9.<br />
Jan 20 2014.<br />
Gunmen attack Agatu LGA, killing 5<br />
soldiers and 7 civilians.<br />
10.<br />
Jan 20, 2014.<br />
Attack on Adeke village. Locals put up a<br />
fight; 3 dead.<br />
11.<br />
20-21 Feb 2014.<br />
Herdsmen attack Gwer West LGA. 35<br />
persons killed. 80,000 displaced. 6 Council<br />
Wards Sacked.<br />
12.<br />
Feb 24, 2014.<br />
Attack on a Tiv community along Naka<br />
road, Makurdi, killing 8 people.<br />
13.<br />
March 6, 2014.<br />
30 killed in Kwande, Katsina/Ala and Logo<br />
LGAs by attackers dressed in military<br />
uniforms. 6 villages sacked.<br />
14.<br />
March 12, 2014.<br />
Raid on Ukpam village of Mbabaai in<br />
Guma LGA. 28 persons killed. Yam barns<br />
and farms burnt.<br />
15.<br />
March 10, 2014.<br />
Former Governor Suswam’s convoy<br />
attacked by herdsmen at Umenger. He and<br />
convoy manage an escape.<br />
16.<br />
March 12, 2014.<br />
Herdsmen attack Suswam’s village in Logo<br />
LGA. 22 slaughtered. Entire village sacked.<br />
17.<br />
March 23, 2014.<br />
25 killed and over 50 injured by herdsmen<br />
said to be bearing sophisticated weapons<br />
in Gbajimba, Guma LGA.<br />
18.<br />
March 25, 2014.<br />
Police recover 7 corpses following an<br />
attack on Agena village by Herdsmen.<br />
19.<br />
March 29, 2014.<br />
Herdsmen attack 4 villages in Agatu LGA.<br />
19 people killed, 15 others abducted.<br />
20.<br />
March 29, 2014.<br />
Suspected use of chemical weapons on<br />
Shengev community in Gwer West LGA<br />
leaving 15 people dead.<br />
21.<br />
March 30, 2014.<br />
19 locals killed and 15 abducted in Agatu<br />
LGA.<br />
22.<br />
April 10, 2014.<br />
Over 100 herdsmen attacked 4 villages in<br />
Ukemberaga/Tswarev ward of Logo LG, 6<br />
killed,Properties lost.<br />
23.<br />
April 15, 2014.<br />
Attack on Obagaji, Headquarters of Agatu<br />
LGA, 12 youths killed.<br />
24.<br />
September 10, 2014.<br />
Herdsmen attacked five villages in<br />
Ogbadibo LGA leaving scores dead.<br />
25.<br />
January 27, 2015.<br />
17 persons killed in attacks on Abugbe,<br />
Okoklo, Ogwule & Ocholoyan in Agatu LGA<br />
by herdsmen.<br />
26.<br />
January 30, 2015.<br />
Over 100 attackers stormed 5 villages in<br />
Logo LGA, killing 9 persons in the attack.<br />
27.<br />
March 15, 2015.<br />
Egba village in Agatu LGA sacked by<br />
herdsmen,over 90 locals, including women<br />
and children killed.<br />
28.<br />
April 27, 2015.<br />
28 persons killed by herdsmen in attack on<br />
3 villages at Mbadwem, Guma LGA;<br />
houses and farmlands razed.<br />
29.<br />
May 11, 2015.<br />
Ikyoawen community in Turan Kwande<br />
LGA invaded by herdsmen. 5 persons killed<br />
& 8 others wounded.<br />
30.<br />
May 24, 2015.<br />
100 killed in an attack by herdsmen in<br />
villages &refugee camps at Ukura, Gafa,<br />
Per and Tse-Gusa, Logo LGA.<br />
31.<br />
July 7, 2015.<br />
1 local killed and several others injured<br />
following an attack on mourners in Imande<br />
Bebeshi in Kwande LGA.<br />
32.<br />
November 5, 2015.<br />
12 persons killed, 25 others injured in<br />
Buruku LGA following an attack by<br />
suspected herdsmen.<br />
33.<br />
Feb 8, 2016.<br />
10 killed and over 300 displaced in clash<br />
between herdsmen and farmers at Tor-<br />
Anyiin and Tor-Ataan in Buruku LGA.<br />
34.<br />
Feb 29, 2016.<br />
Over 500 locals killed and 7000 displaced<br />
in an attack on Agatu LGA by fulani<br />
herdsmen.<br />
35.<br />
March 9, 2016.<br />
8 residents killed by herdsmen in attacks<br />
on Ngorukgan, Tse Chia, Deghkia and<br />
Nhumbe in Logo LGA.<br />
36.<br />
March 11, 2016.<br />
Attack on Convoy of Senator David Mark<br />
by suspected herdsmen in Agatu LGA. No<br />
casualty recorded.<br />
37.<br />
March 13, 2016.<br />
6 people including an APC youth leader<br />
killed by herdsmen in an attack on Tarkaa<br />
LGA.<br />
Agatu LGA is still under major threat with<br />
locals fleeing and some villages now<br />
occupied by herdsmen and thousands of<br />
cattle.<br />
#BoycottBeef<br />
#EnoughIsEnough<br />
#SaveBenueFarmers<br />
#StopTheKillingsNow<br />
#MoveAgainstFulaniOccupation<br />
#MAFO<br />
Sam Ijoho 2016<br />
SHARE THIS:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
JUYTREhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00353346671065968857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3557230057569916121.post-70933685466248035092016-04-15T02:50:00.001-07:002016-04-18T03:48:46.697-07:00INSIDE SENATOR SHEHU SANI’S DEFENCE OF FULANI HERDSMEN: FACTS AND FALLACIES.BY APER ZAVA<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0JZ6eiifQVnmCljwlz7DLKKWpUNqu_NOBWwyUCU-kXhVrxdWg-srDb7JHUnZO1aFIg4EQFSODmJ7W5uejg_YWCK5vI92Z2VPJiOjRHzyGY2KmbrwLLTeMxN76qZ52sobCPARCWuc8sfo/s1600/mafo-abounu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0JZ6eiifQVnmCljwlz7DLKKWpUNqu_NOBWwyUCU-kXhVrxdWg-srDb7JHUnZO1aFIg4EQFSODmJ7W5uejg_YWCK5vI92Z2VPJiOjRHzyGY2KmbrwLLTeMxN76qZ52sobCPARCWuc8sfo/s320/mafo-abounu.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div dir="ltr">
</div>
<a name='more'></a>Precisely on October 24, 2015 the Punch newspaper published the text of an interview granted by Senator Shehu Sani in response to calls by the Afeniferi, a Yoruba cultural group, that Fulani herdsmen should restrict their activities to the northern part of the country. That interview forms the basis for this contribution whose aim is to expose the fallacies in the views and sentiments expressed therein by the Senator concerning herdsmen and their activities.<br />
<div dir="ltr">
Who is Senator Shehu Sani? </div>
<div dir="ltr">
Shehu Sani represents Kaduna Central at the Nigerian Red Chamber. He holds a HND in Agricultural Engineering from Kaduna Polytechnic. His profile on Wikipedia says he is a “Civil Rights Activist”. That he was actively involved in the struggle against the annulment of the June 12 1993 Presidential Election, a struggle that got him “implicated in the 1995 phantom Coup” following which he was jailed for life. Shehu Sani, however, regained freedom when civil rule was restored in 1999.</div>
<div dir="ltr">
Senator Shehu Sani has led several struggles to fight for the rights of the weak and to bring succor to the poor and vulnerable. </div>
<div dir="ltr">
Recently, he has been a strong voice for the Fulani herdsmen who have been terrorizing rural communities who are opposed to their destructive grazing activities. While it is nobody’s business that Senator Shehu Sani has shifted from civil rights activism to nomadic grazing rights activism, his support of the cause of the wealthy cattle rearing predators and his indifference to the plight of the poor peasant farming victims does not speak well of his reputation as a civil rights activist.</div>
<div dir="ltr">
Senator Shehu Sani started by saying there are good herdsmen and there bad herdsmen. He believes that the widely reported cases of rural terrorism, raping, kidnapping and destruction of crops are perpetrated by the criminal elements among the herdsmen. The Senator, however, argues that it is wrong to demonize all herdsmen on account of the crimes committed by the few among them. </div>
<div dir="ltr">
While this argument is plausible, it is difficult to apply it to herdsmen because when the “bad” herdsmen sack villages and displace the inhabitants, all herdsmen (both the “good” and the “bad” ones) move in with their cattle and occupy the deserted farmlands. How can you be knowingly benefiting from the proceeds of a crime and still claim innocence of the crime? </div>
<div dir="ltr">
These well coordinated attacks cannot just be blamed on few criminal elements among the herdsmen, the attacks are part of a global agenda of the herdsmen and their patrons to capture grazing lands, having lost their land to desertification. </div>
<div dir="ltr">
Senator Shehu Sani says “it is not possible to restrict the movement of Fulani herdsmen” as that would amount to violation of their fundamental right to move freely. It is laughable, but pathetic, that the Senator finds it reasonable to rely on the right to freedom of movement to justify trespass and forceful occupation of territories by herdsmen. Does the constitution say citizens should move freely and occupy any property they deem fit, and that where access is denied one should use force to displace the inhabitants and install themselves as the landowners? Why is Senator Shehu Sani mischievously turning the constitution upside down? Clearly Senator Shehu Sani is one of those who are indoctrinating the herdsmen and giving them the effrontery to sack villages, occupy deserted farmlands and maintain some level of hostilities enough to permanently keep the native inhabitants too frightened to return home as landowners.</div>
<div dir="ltr">
Senator Shehu Sani blames the clashes between crop farmers and herdsmen on the “the failure of government to develop a national grazing land policy whereby the Fulani will know the paths they should follow and the ones they should avoid”. He wants government to acquire and preserve grazing reserves/routes for the exclusive use of the herdsmen as a solution to the land use conflicts between crop farmers and herdsmen. I refuse to believe the Senator is enjoying these conflicts and wants them to continue indefinitely, but the fact that his suggested conditions for peace are not realizable is so much disturbing.</div>
<div dir="ltr">
Which communities in the savanna and the forest zones will be willing to concede lands large enough to accommodate the teaming population of herdsmen and herds who keep trouping into the country from the drying nations of the sahel?</div>
<div dir="ltr">
Besides, does the Senator think the pasture in the proposed grazing reserves will keep regenerating and will never yield to persistent grazing? Does the Senator think that the climate change disasters that have ravaged the native home base of the herdsmen, as a result of which they relocated to other parts of the country, will never hit his proposed grazing reserves? </div>
<div dir="ltr">
Someone close to Senator Shehu Sani should tap him and wake him up to the reality that the grazing reserves he is clamouring for cannot sustain the only God-knows-how-many herdsmen and herds. That in no time the grazing reserves will yield to the pressure of persistent grazing and finally become as barren as desert lands. That is if government is able to acquire the grazing reserves at all.</div>
<div dir="ltr">
Why is it so difficult for a well learned man like Senator Shehu Sani to understand that herdsmen cannot continue to rely on natural pasture and water sources to sustain their livestock, and that they need to start cultivating their own pasture? Even if his training as an Agricultural Engineer did not expose him to the modern system of rearing livestock in ranches, he has travelled well enough to see how this is done in other countries that are notable for animal production. </div>
<div dir="ltr">
One expects the Senator to engage in exploring ways of helping his people to access modern techniques of planting pasture and managing range lands. But no. The only modern technology Senator Shehu Sani wants for his people, the herdsmen, is the one that allows them to track the movement of cattle and which will enable the herdsmen to communicate with each other and with the government as they move from place to place. What a shame!</div>
<div dir="ltr">
Today, farmers in Benue, Nasarawa, Plateau and Taraba states, as well as elsewhere down south, are afraid to go to farm because of the hostilities of herdsmen. As a result, rural poverty has escalated and food security is under serious threat. Yet, Senator Shehu Sani says this will continue for as long as it takes the government (that can barely provide social amenities) to provide and equip grazing reserves for the herdsmen.</div>
<div dir="ltr">
Well, if Senator Shehu Sani does not care about national food security and the livelihood of crop famers, he cannot ignore the serious threats to national security that nomadic grazing presents. The Senator and his fellow patrons of herdsmen have admitted variously that violent elements have infiltrated the ranks of herdsmen. We have no way of knowing what these “bad” herdsmen are up to. It is time to subject the herdsmen to the scrutiny of the law. Even though Senator Shehu Sani argues that “the (village) hunters in possession of guns are not different from the Fulani in possession guns”, the practice whereby herdsmen live their lives outside the purview of law enforcement agents is unacceptable in this time the country is grappling with insurgency. There is no doubt that grazing routes are potential paths for the circulation of dangerous weapons undetected, and there is no doubt that the camps of the herdsmen are lawless enclaves which can be used as bases to plan and launch attacks.</div>
<div dir="ltr">
It is time to legislate against nomadic grazing and encourage the herdsmen to settle down into ranches. The nation permits the continuation of the outmoded practice of nomadic grazing at her peril.</div>
<div dir="ltr">
Aper Zava</div>
<div dir="ltr">
Makurdi.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVwtCsbI9QpEdyAfg2a4B5KfvrhH_vnUVD_Jk3GhJmoSmxDUe0JwN3I4f1nVNtoGbQ40bxE0lLBO67q-oOlnQ6zp9Afss3XltpDPqBAlLNxol-rHP7xS01B4YNi4DJoMkPB8lbRT2_Ju8/s1600/IMG-20160413-WA0007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVwtCsbI9QpEdyAfg2a4B5KfvrhH_vnUVD_Jk3GhJmoSmxDUe0JwN3I4f1nVNtoGbQ40bxE0lLBO67q-oOlnQ6zp9Afss3XltpDPqBAlLNxol-rHP7xS01B4YNi4DJoMkPB8lbRT2_Ju8/s640/IMG-20160413-WA0007.jpg" /> </a> </div>
JUYTREhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00353346671065968857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3557230057569916121.post-29014752095672815412016-04-15T02:44:00.001-07:002016-04-18T03:46:33.441-07:00HERSDMEN, HOSTILITIES, FORCEFUL OCCUPATION OF TERRITORIES AND THE FALLACIES BEHIND THEM.BY APER ZAVA<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFRGFgLLpgleokkEvA4eui1Rg-KAlbXEuL3u6KsvpdEQUXYCMP81nYBmJ17iuTgE94-ZsyqbKmNMuaxEcfGv2VuFGbcvUCFHiln4c-3m7-OVo9pq4_hDo4TFgxCBWG-VD7rvnvcPqmu2A/s1600/FB_IMG_1460540173277.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFRGFgLLpgleokkEvA4eui1Rg-KAlbXEuL3u6KsvpdEQUXYCMP81nYBmJ17iuTgE94-ZsyqbKmNMuaxEcfGv2VuFGbcvUCFHiln4c-3m7-OVo9pq4_hDo4TFgxCBWG-VD7rvnvcPqmu2A/s320/FB_IMG_1460540173277.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div dir="ltr">
</div>
<a name='more'></a>Since Crop farmers became unwilling to make their farmlands available for grazing, and since the proposed bill to create grazing reserves/routes failed to pass at the National Assembly, herdsmen have resorted to the use of extreme force to capture farmlands from native crop farmers, particularly in the states of Benue, Nasarawa, Plateau and Taraba. It is strange that in this 21st Century, and in a free nation, people are able to successfully use force to acquire land to do their business with impunity. It is a fact that armed migrant herdsmen have successfully invaded rural communities, killed and displaced the native inhabitants and are grazing their animals on the deserted farmlands. They have not stopped at that, they have kept the engine of hostilities running to make sure the displaced farmland owners do not return home. Where they return, they do so as serfs, the herdsmen having established themselves as the landlords.<br />
<div dir="ltr">
What gives herdsmen such effrontery? Why is the nation silent in the face of these heinous crimes by herdsmen? Why is the government looking the other way as farmers continue to suffer this pogrom?</div>
<div dir="ltr">
Perhaps the answers to these questions can be found in the following exposition. </div>
<div dir="ltr">
Early this year, precisely on the 15th of March 2015, Herdsmen and their mercenaries, in one of their series of attacks on rural communities, invaded, for the umpteenth time, some villages in Agatu Local Government Area of Benue State. They reportedly slaughtered 94 persons including women and children, reduced many homes to ashes and displaced scores. When news of the carnage filtered out, the Director of Media and Publicity of the APC Presidential Campaign Organization, Garba Shehu, released a statement on March 17 2015 in response to the blood bath by herdsmen in which he called on “interested parties to recognize the rights of each other and make compromises for the sake of peace”. In other words, Mr. Garba Shahu enjoined indigenous crop farmers to recognize the rights of the wandering herdsmen to use their farmlands for grazing and be willing to concede same to herdsmen before they can know peace in their homes.</div>
<div dir="ltr">
I thought Mr. Garba Shehu made that arrogant and careless statement because the Fulani blood in him had a better part of his judgment. I was wrong. The Governor of Benue State, Mr. Samuel Ortom, a Tiv man, one whose kindred has serially been invaded and torched by herdsmen; one whose kinsmen have been slaughtered and maimed and impoverished by the pogrom that is being perpetrated by herdsmen; one whose kinsmen are now living as serfs and in fear and with the pain and shame of having their wives and daughters defied by herdsmen; made the same statement as Garba Shehu when he hosted members of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association (MACABAN) in Government House Makurdi. Governor Ortom called on crop farmers in Benue State to recognize the rights of herdsmen to use their farmlands for grazing pending when government will build ranches for the herdsmen. </div>
<div dir="ltr">
I do not know if Governor Ortom truly believes herdsmen have rights over the farmlands of his people or he was simply trying to appease the patrons of the herdsmen. </div>
<div dir="ltr">
Whatever the case may be, one thing is clear: It is this kind of thinking and statements from highly placed people in government that give herdsmen the effrontery to embark on this pogrom. It is this thinking that gives the sympathizers of herdsmen the audacity to justify these hostilities against crop farmers and offer unreasonable conditions for peace. It is this thinking that earns the herdsmen the cooperation and the shield they occasionally enjoy from the military and the police as they destroy farms, rape women, slaughter farmers and forcefully occupy farmlands. </div>
<div dir="ltr">
The fallacy that their citizenship of Nigeria gives them right to graze any land in Nigeria is what has emboldened herdsmen to embark on mass genocide of crop farmers who are refusing them access to their farmlands in a bid to enforce their right to use any land in Nigeria to graze their animals, a right they have arrogated to themselves and which the government has consented to. To enforce this ‘right’, herdsmen have gone as far as killing soldiers and other security agents who refuse to cooperate with them and stand in their way to conquer farmlands. </div>
<div dir="ltr">
How did Nigerians come to accept the fallacy that herdsmen have the right to access any land they deem fit and that the rest of Nigerians are under obligation to respect that right? How did it become unthinkable to question the fact that herdsmen are the only people who do their business of rearing livestock on other people’s lands? One is to fear these fallacies more than all the terrorist organizations put together. </div>
<div dir="ltr">
Why does Governor Samuel Ortom and his counterparts in the Northern Governors Forum call on crop farmers to share their farmlands with herdsmen pending when government will build ranches for the herdsmen, but fail to call on home owners to accommodate the homeless pending when government will build homes for the homeless?</div>
<div dir="ltr">
Why would the government set up a taskforce to check cattle rustling but remain indifferent to the plight of crop farmers? It is strange and curious that the government has committed to protecting the predators and has abandoned the preys to their fate.</div>
<div dir="ltr">
Obsession with the past.</div>
<div dir="ltr">
Since our governments and the apologists of herdsmen are so much obsessed with the days when herdsmen and crop farmers co-existed peacefully, it is pertinent to examine this obsession.</div>
<div dir="ltr">
Indeed there used to be an informal system of shared land use between crop farmers and visiting herdsmen. But that was before climate change disasters dealt a deadly blow on the sahel region, the native home base of the herdsmen.</div>
<div dir="ltr">
In those days, herdsmen migrated into the savanna and forest zones only during dry seasons when farming activities were minimal. They usually grazed their cattle on uncultivated lands and on farmlands where crops had been harvested. The herdsmen would return to their native home base at the start of rainy season when farming activities commenced in earnest.</div>
<div dir="ltr">
This seasonal migration by herdsmen was what sustained the shared land use system that saw relative peace between crop farmers and herdsmen. </div>
<div dir="ltr">
Yes, relative peace: farmers and herdsmen always clashed but with far less viciousness. Throughout the history of herdsmen, they have been unable to completely prevent their cattle from destroying crops, neither have they ever succeeded in stopping their randy men from raping women. To speak of the good old days when crop farmers and herdsmen co-existed peacefully and omit to mention clashes that resulted from cases of rape and crop destruction is an unforgivable historical fraud.</div>
<div dir="ltr">
Unfortunately, we cannot return to the ‘good old days’ because the conditions that made possible the system of shared land use between crop farmers and herdsmen no longer exist, and cannot be re-created.</div>
<div dir="ltr">
Firstly, the seasonal migration pattern by herdsmen which ensured little or no interference with farming activities has been destroyed by the persistent draught and desertification in the sahel region, which includes extreme northern Nigeria. There are no more pasture and water sources there for the herdsmen to return to during rainy season. Thus, herdsmen, who used to migrate seasonally, have permanently relocated to the middle belt and southern parts of the country where there are vast pasture lands with water sources.</div>
<div dir="ltr">
Secondly, the number of herdsmen and herds has exploded far beyond what the crop farming communities can accommodate. The past couple of decades have seen a steady influx of herdsmen into the country from the drying nations of the sahel including Niger, Chad, Mali and elsewhere. One can recall occasions when it was reported that some herdsmen could not speak or understand Hausa, the lingua franca of the northern parts of the country where the herdsmen originate from.</div>
<div dir="ltr">
To make matters worse, crop famers also have had their fair share of population explosion. This development has only left little uncultivated lands available for the increasing herds and herdsmen.</div>
<div dir="ltr">
Thirdly, in those days, herdsmen used to show remorse and take responsibility when their cattle destroyed crops. They used to pay damages for such destructions when caught. Today herdsmen, for whatever reason, gun down farmers who dare challenge them for destroying their crops. Today, herdsmen who are caught raping women disappear from police custody as soon as they get there. </div>
<div dir="ltr">
So, anybody calling for the return to the days when crop farmers co-existed with herdsmen with relative peace should be tapped to wake up to the reality that the conditions that made possible the system of shared land use no longer exist, and cannot be re-created.</div>
<div dir="ltr">
Another fallacy that emboldens herdsmen to intensify hostilities on rural communities in order to capture grazing lands is the controversial land concession agreements that are mischievously made between the patrons of herdsmen and traditional rulers. The power-wielding patrons of the herdsmen use the various state governments to entice, con and arm-twist traditional rulers into making agreements to make grazing lands available for herdsmen. Herdsmen believe that the criminal land concession agreements between their patrons and traditional rulers gives them title over any land, both cultivated and uncultivated, and whoever dishonours this criminal agreement does not deserve to live. Some commentators who suffer chronic ignorance use this to justify the hostilities by herdsmen.</div>
<div dir="ltr">
Way forward:</div>
<div dir="ltr">
To successfully fight the herdsmen monster, we must first of all debunk the fallacies that created and that sustain them. </div>
<div dir="ltr">
The sustainability of the system of shared land use between crop farmers and herdsmen; the legitimacy of the land concession agreements between traditional rulers and patrons of herdsmen; and the sustainability of nomadic grazing system of rearing livestock must be settled once and for all. </div>
<div dir="ltr">
Firstly, let it be made clear that farmers are not bound by any law or obligation to continue to share their farmlands with herdsmen. Those who are calling on crop farmers to recognize the rights of herdsmen to share in using their farmlands should know that herdsmen do not have such rights.</div>
<div dir="ltr">
Rather, herdsmen and their apologists must be made to understand that, indeed, land belongs to somebody, and does not belong to everybody. That their citizenship of Nigeria does not give them right to access any land they deem fit. That there is a law that prohibits trespass and unlawful occupation of land, and their violation of this law can no longer be tolerated. That there are legitimate ways of acquiring land, to do so through hostilities (like their forbearers did in the 1800s) is unacceptable in this time. </div>
<div dir="ltr">
Secondly, traditional rulers do not own the land. Land belongs to individuals and families. Any transaction made with traditional rulers cannot be binding on the owners of the land. Aggrieved herdsmen should seek justice through legal means. That is what others do when they are defrauded. To resort to violence is unacceptable, but if they must do, let them direct their hostilities to the persons that collected their money. They should leave the innocent poor farmers alone. </div>
<div dir="ltr">
Thirdly, crop farming and nomadic grazing can no longer be combined in this time, they are mutually exclusive careers. Any policy or program that promotes nomadic grazing of livestock is a blue print for an endless war. In fact it is wickedness of the highest order to promote nomadic grazing in this 21st Century. It is wickedness to crop farmers because it threatens their lives and livelihood. It is wickedness to the nation because it threatens food security and national security. It is also wickedness to the future generation because it causes environmental degradation.</div>
<div dir="ltr">
Yes, nomadic grazing threatens national security. The practice whereby herdsmen live their lives outside the purview of the law enforcement agents is extremely dangerous and unacceptable in this unfortunate time in which terrorism is the order of the day. Grazing routes are potential tracts for insurgents and other criminals to circulate arms and dangerous weapons undetected. There are dire consequences for the nation if nomadic grazing is allowed to continue.</div>
<div dir="ltr">
One wonders why talk about building ranches does not interest the wealthy patrons of the herdsmen. Yet the ranch system of rearing livestock is what animal breeders in other nations that are serious about development have adopted and are making huge gains from. The ranch system is the only way to rear cattle without constituting a nuisance to both the social and physical environments.</div>
<div dir="ltr">
Rather than finance the building of ranches and cultivate pasture for their herds, patrons of the herdsmen prefer to finance hostilities against farmers to forcefully capture farmlands for grazing. The huge funds they expend in acquiring sophisticated weapons and ammunition and for hiring mercenaries enough to terrorize at least three states simultaneously, such funds are more than enough to build ranches.</div>
<div dir="ltr">
They want government to build ranches for them before they can stop terrorizing farmers knowing too well that it would take forever for a government that can barely pay workers’ salaries to build ranches enough to accommodate the increasing number of herdsmen and herds.</div>
<div dir="ltr">
Obviously herdsmen are not willing to abandon the outmoded system of nomadic grazing of livestock and embrace the modern system of ranching. Understandably, it is difficult to willingly abandon a practice that is your culture and identity. But it cannot be so difficult for a serious nation to compel and give incentives to a section of her citizens whose tradition has become a calamity. And a good way to start is for every state of the federation to legislate against nomadic grazing of livestock.</div>
<div dir="ltr">
Prohibition of nomadic grazing is not only patriotic it is also a moral duty. It is not only necessary, it is also very urgent.</div>
<div dir="ltr">
Aper Zava.</div>
<div dir="ltr">
aperzava@gmail.com</div>
JUYTREhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00353346671065968857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3557230057569916121.post-51862603177862848792016-03-22T01:53:00.001-07:002016-04-15T17:41:08.887-07:00ON THE SUYA MAN's BOARD LIES THE BLOOD OF OUR PEOPLE<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii6mn0MyBKIAkjMKx8QHyoqJFVAGbccQw2anFSUKslPFcORYfU8o9bLk47ZsiPw6XT2t5ACt8g4hq6-U4UHTQsrKh1gwpjGnSplGIqV13PRh2Ils0ajwADoH15FH3TRforaS4pG7G7JyM/s1600/IMG-20160321-WA0001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii6mn0MyBKIAkjMKx8QHyoqJFVAGbccQw2anFSUKslPFcORYfU8o9bLk47ZsiPw6XT2t5ACt8g4hq6-U4UHTQsrKh1gwpjGnSplGIqV13PRh2Ils0ajwADoH15FH3TRforaS4pG7G7JyM/s320/IMG-20160321-WA0001.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>On the Fulani man's suya board, lies the blood of Our people.<br />
In the Benue valley's, the Fulani' cattle are comfortably eating in our farms.<br />
In Benue, the farms cultivated by the people during the rains have become the food of the cattle..<br />
<br />
<br />
In Benue, while my people wonder in search of where to sleep, the FulaNi cattle are comfortably sleeping in our huts...<br />
<br />
In Agatu, A doctor was killed.<br />
In Ihyarev, A Lawyer was killed.<br />
In Nonguv, An engineer was killed.<br />
In Masev, A Pharmacist was murdered.<br />
In Buruku, a ruler was abducted and humiliated.<br />
In Nigeria, the people are restless.....<br />
All this because a few Benue people have resorted to continually sponsor it.<br />
<br />
For every one time you eat suya, Kpomo, cowlegs or whatever cow, you sponsor the bullets that kill our people and sharpen the cutlasses that massacre them.<br />
<br />
Be not a killer of your people.<br />
The revolution is simple...<br />
By All Means, #BoyCottBeef.<br />
Join #MAFO.<br />
Preach it to the end of the nation.<br />
From the creeks in the south, to the industrial areas of the east down to the palaces of the south west to the amiable city of Katsina- Ala let it be preached that BEEF is a Taboo...<br />
#BoyCottBeef.<br />
<br />
Kamo Sende<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
JUYTREhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00353346671065968857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3557230057569916121.post-16046513302079327492016-03-22T01:29:00.000-07:002016-04-18T03:45:34.689-07:00MY PEOPLE ARE BEING KILLED AND MAIMED <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1G8Lpfqg5OXTrMCly7Xbz0-ZSs3fUYg7JjWeZi31S9zOOqJm49LUgKQHjKT9UHiclqpCx2Cvc5Xa_ZRY4rkqwKrEIy_nDI1ujfNCFsvbHdA5NzbyCNkrpZNEX5VBUOEaXUnnA-FqWuRU/s1600/IMG-20160413-WA0007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1G8Lpfqg5OXTrMCly7Xbz0-ZSs3fUYg7JjWeZi31S9zOOqJm49LUgKQHjKT9UHiclqpCx2Cvc5Xa_ZRY4rkqwKrEIy_nDI1ujfNCFsvbHdA5NzbyCNkrpZNEX5VBUOEaXUnnA-FqWuRU/s320/IMG-20160413-WA0007.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<a name='more'></a>1. My Name is Kamo Sende.<br />
2. I am an adult Male Nigerian.<br />
3. I am from Ikyurav-Tiev in Katsina-Ala local government of Benue State.<br />
4. My people are everyday killed, mianmed, battered and assaulted on their own land by the Fulani herdsmen.<br />
<br />
5. We have everyday tried to put our complains before the Government of the day but we have not been heard as nothing tangible has been done to that effect.<br />
6. My peoples blood has been used to soil the land and make it fertile for the grass to grow so as to enhance proper grazing for the Fulani man's cattle.<br />
7. We have been unheard and nobody has paid attention to our tears.<br />
8. Very recently, over 300 of my people were killed in a day by the same Fulani herdsmen.<br />
9. My people have no source of water as the only source of bad river water they drank has been taken over by the fulani cattle and is no longer safe for drinking.<br />
10. My peoples homes have become a resting place for the herdsmen after a "tiring" day.<br />
11. My peoples ancestral home has been termed "Grazing Reserve" and our ancestors resting place has been proposed to be the feeding place of the Fulani cattle.<br />
12. My people have no rest.<br />
13. Foxes have holes, birds have nests but my people have no place to lay their heads.<br />
14. Because nobody will speak for us we have resolved.<br />
15. Because there is no one to fight for us we have chosen.<br />
16. Because we have no strength for violence we will employ diplomacy.<br />
17. Because the powers that be are not for us we have chosen a path...<br />
18... A path to save our breed and to keep our kith and kin.<br />
<br />
A path to save our selves collectively.<br />
A path to put to rest our slained matyrs.<br />
19. I and others have made a resolve today to....<br />
20. #BoycottBeef #BoycottBeef #BoycottBeef #BoycottBeef #BoycottBeef.<br />
<br />
We will stop funding the bullets that kill us.<br />
We reject grazing reserves on our ancestral lands.<br />
We will not be killed and broken forever.<br />
I Kamo the son of Tyonongu Sende Gaase has decided to #BoycottBeef to save my people.<br />
#SaveBenue #BoycottBeef.<br />
<br />
Kamo Sende<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUNNn5WrOonwDzXwYYBOADMbBgVIeOv8ADn8mD6sLTCi1dtVmvkPP17UAGs-bMcFIRTU0q7XkwiTZEOQnziRN7evKZLcAzu_jR5bIpbkgHzdcXxJBy5OIF9WHLmHleYpssg8BWW7D7akA/s1600/IMG-20160317-WA0000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUNNn5WrOonwDzXwYYBOADMbBgVIeOv8ADn8mD6sLTCi1dtVmvkPP17UAGs-bMcFIRTU0q7XkwiTZEOQnziRN7evKZLcAzu_jR5bIpbkgHzdcXxJBy5OIF9WHLmHleYpssg8BWW7D7akA/s320/IMG-20160317-WA0000.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
JUYTREhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00353346671065968857noreply@blogger.com2