Historically, farmer/herder crisis used to be rare in the southwestern Nigeria but degradation of pasture and increasing violence in the North have forced herders South, extending the farmer/herder crisis southward.
Over the years, competition for resources; land for pasture or for farming to foster their distinct enterprises has been a major reason for the crisis.
The International Crisis Groups claims that beginning from January 2018 to date, an estimated 300,000 people have fled their homes following clashes between farmers and herders in the region.
However, there is optimism that an end to these constant fights is on the horizon following the recent signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to promote peaceful coexistence between the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria and the South West Commodities Farmers Organisation on April 18.
According to the MoU signed during a day summit in Ibadan, farmers and herders in the South West have agreed to work together for the benefit of both parties and Nigeria.
In a telephone chat with Daily Trust, the coordinator of the Southwest Commodities Farmers Organisation, Olusegun Dasaolu, said the two parties are the critical stakeholders in the crisis.
He said different mechanisms, to ensure peaceful co-existence without success, have been put in place by the federal government but described this as the right step in the right direction because it involves the critical stakeholders.
He added that they are in the best position to find a lasting solution to the incessant crisis, even as the support of the government is crucial to the success of the peace efforts.
He said, “This is going to take a long way in solving the food crisis in the sense that farmers will now feel secure to go back to their farms and so agricultural production will increase and will assist greatly in the Renewed Hope Agenda of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.”
He identified the absence of a database of genuine herders as a major challenge faced by the parties.
This, he said, would be addressed in subsequent engagements with MACBAN.
“We have the indigenous herders, born and bred within the system, but the intruders often come with all sorts of evil, but a correct data would help in crisis management. Strangers need to be identified. Someone moves his animal from Niger, Benin Republic and moves down to Nigeria without any record or trace of movements. Tracing such people when they commit crimes is impossible.
“However, if we have data, whatever happens in a locality will be easily traced through the database. When there is also a smooth relationship between farmers and herders, they will be able to recognise one another and solve common problems.
“Also, in the six South West states, an enabling law has been put in place by the houses of assembly to control farmers and herders’ clashes. These laws are there but have never been implemented. Putting this law into practice would guide the farmers and herders on best practices of their trades.”
Dasaolu stressed the readiness of the South West farmers to stay committed to the success of the understanding.
He expressed optimism in the capability of MACBAN to help in the identification and registration of genuine herders.
He added that the signing of agreement was only one of the several steps on the path to food sustainability as both parties would meet on a regular basis to foster a smooth working relationship.
The National Chairman of Miyyeti Allah, Othman Ngelzarma, acknowledged that the agreement was an opportunity to chart a way forward in ensuring the security of both farmers and herders in the region.
He noted that if there was anyone well known for honouring agreements, it has to be the Fulani. “Once there is an understanding or an agreement, they don’t usually breach it. The breach of the agreement mostly comes from the other side,” he said.
He attributed the hostile posture of the political leaders of the region towards herders to misinformation. He said there had been several town hall meetings and Ondo State government on various issues pertaining to the crisis.
“During the formation of Amọtẹkun, late Ondo State governor, Akeredolu, succumbed to unconfirmed information given to him by his other colleagues. Due to this, he made a lot of statements which discredited the Fulani in the state.
“Up till now, the Fulani in Ondo State are living peacefully. It has been affirmed that it is not only Fulani that kidnap people. Other groups are also caught in the act. Some Yoruba criminals from Kwara State disguised as Fulani, and they did a lot of atrocities before they were caught and it was proved that they were not Fulani. This is not to say that there are no criminal elements among Fulani, but they are everywhere in every tribe.
“In Ekiti State, we sat together with Fayose and formed a committee; a critical stakeholders’ committee from the state down to local government levels and that has worked to ensure peace during his time. Fayose directed pastoralists to stay in the game reserve, since he had no grazing reserve, and get registered with the local government and they all got registered under the local governments. And that was how they all got registered. He also signed a law that any pastoralist who allows his cattle to cause destruction on someone’s farmlands has to pay for such destruction and must be made to face the law, going to prison.
“Also, the same was to apply to any farmer who killed Fulani cattle. We were at the centre of everything and got everything done in Ekiti State. This was the same way that we had engagements with Akeredolu but he never asked us to get Fulani registered or put mechanisms in place for such. I was the association’s secretary for eight years before becoming the president.
“There was never a time when such issues of registering Fulani came up in Ondo. These allegations are mere concoctions and imagination of people who resent Fulani for one reason or the other. Unfortunately, some media houses aid them in this course, thereby contributing in tarnishing the image of the Fulani pastoralists,” he said.
Ngelzarma noted that the development has united them as brothers who must collaborate effectively to identify and address any problematic elements within the pastoralist community in the region.
“What the MoU with cattle breeders translates to is that the farmers in the South West and the herders have agreed to work together for the unity of farmers and the progress of agriculture so that conflicts will be resolved amicably among the stakeholders. The summit was an eye opener towards finding a lasting solution to some challenges confronting farmers in the South West states. And from this moment on, the first step we are going to take is to identify the genuine herders in the South West and who are the genuine farmers, and we have agreed to connect better,” he added.
Both Ngelzarma and Dasaolu stressed the importance of government’s support to achieve success on their objectives.
Meanwhile, the Southwest Director of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Abimbola Akeredolu, described the MoU as a symbol of agreement between the herders and South West to work in unity to improve food production and sustainability within the South West region and Nigeria.
He also advocated for the continued deployment of technological solutions in agriculture to support farmers and enhance food production.
Also, a cassava farmer, Mr Bolarinwa Joshua, who claims to have been a victim of Fulani herdsmen attack and destruction of his farmland, said farmers had suffered a lot from the activities of the herders. He hoped that the development would see an end to the misunderstanding between the two groups.
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