Sule Lamido and Herdsmen: The Recommendation of Mathias and My Testimony

Some hours ago, our elder brother, Timawus Mathias, posted the following on his wall, as part of his relentless effort toward resolving the conflict between herdsmen and farmers:

—�—�—�—�-
The dreadful national security implication of our persistent ogre of killings is that Nigeria has been invaded by armies of armed marauders. It is disheartening that these marauders are seen as a solution to the conflict between farmers and cattle rearers that are mostly Fulani. To me, the real loser in the calamity is the herder whose secure access to grazing land is compromised for a long time after the conflict in which he has already lost family and cattle. Should Miyetti Allah not pursue a return to the old order really?

The old order rested on mutual respect, access to grazing land (as much as required) through mutually agreed terms with traditional authority and locals; indeed once harvests are done with, farms became cattle camps till the rains began again. Peace was essential not AK47 rifles.

Of course dynamics have changed. The cattle owner we once knew is now a mere gainako (itinerant hired herder), employed by a city dwelling cattle baron. Cattle rustling is now a multi million naira gambit with receivers of stolen cattle waiting to acquire from the armed rustlers and traffic to distant markets like in the bootlegging of old times.

I think we must first provide for the law abiding cattle herder through the new system I have heard the Federal Government announce it was going to adopt. But the Sule Lamido formula in Jigawa is worthy of recommending to all Northern Governors.

The elements include:-
1. Designation of cattle stock routes on 20/30 metres off the shoulders of state and Federal highways across entire States

2. Designation and scouting of gazetted stock routes across states

3. Designation and provision of protected grazing reserves

4. Conduct annually of inoculation and data processing activities for regulated cattle breeding and assistance to herders

5. Strategic publicity that ensures effortless community compliance of accepted government policy

6. Continuous engagement of stakeholders in peace building.

—�—�—�-
My Comment to the post was:

To buttress your point sir, let me give a story about Governor Sule Lamido, who is among the best governors Nigeria has ever produced.

I was in his office along with his SSG, Dr. Aminu Taura, in September 2007 - early in his tenure - when news came that “Bokoloji Fulani” have been sighted approaching one farmer-community in the state. He did not panic but continued discussing other issues of governance with the officials before him.

As I was leaving, I asked him in Fulfulde what he will do about the impending problem. He smiled and calmly replied me that I shouldn’t worry, something will be done about it.

And he did. He got the relevant traditional rulers to allow the herds pass quietly to their destination. And all was quiet. Simple.

What he did not do was to resort to empowering vigilantes to be killing herders as it happened in Zamfara, after Sani Yerima has sold grazing reserves to dignitaries who fenced them and drove herders out into farming communities. Sule did not sell reserves. He worked to reclaim them.

He realized that cattle routes are very important to the kind of husbandry we practice sub-Saharan Africa. So he embarked, as you rightly said, on reclaiming the routes along all highways in Jigawa State, rehabilitated what was left of the grazing reserves and strengthened traditional ways of conflict resolution in case of any encroachment. The annual crisis between farmers and herders wa reduced to a bearable minimum.

That’s is why I continue to respect Lamido. He is full of reason. Whatever he does, he gives the rationale behind it. And he is focused. That is what a leader should be. In 2007, I named him my Governor of the year.

Had other northern governors paid as much attention to the livestock sector as he did, may be we would have witnessed a northward migration of herders by now. In many states, for the past twenty years, farmers have encroached up to the shoulders of highways, planting guinea corn, maize and rice, past the animal route and drainage.

But in spite of most of the northern governors having Fulani blood running in them, some were even children of rural herdsmen and born in rugga, they abandoned all the essential social sectors and resorted to construction of roads and buildings in urban areas that will earn them billions in kickback. Vaccinations and other veterinary services have all disappeared. Herders were left to their own devices. We the masses encouraged them by basing our evaluation of their performance on physical development only.

With this neglect and growing acquisition of farmaland by our explosive population, the herders, who have no one to agitate on their behalf, were left with no choice but to continue moving southward into areas where they are less welcome. It’s not their fault, but of those who abused public trust.

It is my hope that the ongoing conflicts have taught us that governance is not just about roads, street lighting and building structures. Education, agriculture and health also matters. And agriculture is not just about distributing fertilizer to farmers but also about livestock. The livestock sub-sector too is not only about providing incentives for bourgeois poultry farmers and animal feed companies, it is also about our national security in beef and dairy products, which we get from some forgotten people called pastoralists, who are now tagged “killer herdsmen”.

Governor Lamido’s approach was holistic. God bless him and thank you for acknowledging that, our big brother.

Dr. Aliyu U. Tilde
10 January, 2017