In my previous post (I am a Fulani herdsman – I am not a killer)… I got many positive and negative responses. People were talking about North and South, Farmers and herdsmen. Most were playing the man (me) and not the ball (the subject). Few proffered solutions.
I reiterate. I am a Commander (rtd) of the Nigerian Navy. I am a Senator. I am a Fulani Herdsman. I have never killed or harmed any person in the course of my herding. I am not a killer. Stop stereotyping and stigmatising me as a killer. Simple!
Am I talking about Schroedinger’s Equation or the Almighty Formula? What is difficult to understand in this post?!
Now to the subject. Find below a suggested solution to a previous Herdsmen-Farmers Crisis in Adamawa. This was a Paper that I wrote to the Adamawa State Governor, HE Rt.Hon Ahmadu Fintiri, in June 2020. I hope that you would draw lessons from it rather than talking about North, South, East, West, Ethnicity, Religion… my nose, height and complexion!
A GRASSROOTS SOCIO-ECONOMIC PROGRAMME FOR IMPROVED SECURITY IN NUMAN + LAMURDE LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREAS OF ADAMAWA STATE
Adamawa State Government recently inaugurated a Conflict Resolution Committee to address the conflicts in Numan and Lamurde Local Government Areas of Adamawa State. The focal point being the Fulani-Bachama conflicts since they are the 2 predominant groups in the Area and their conflicts have been protracted.
Both sides have currently submitted lists of their grievances to the Committee. These grievances are most probably social in nature. It is expected that the grievances would be analysed and workable solutions found for them by the Committee.
My opinion however is that these conflicts cannot be addressed from a social dimension alone without considering the economic dimensions.
The solution therefore lies in an integrated grassroots socio-economic programme that would make each group dependent on the success of the other; thus a mutually beneficial grassroots socio-economic empowerment programme.
The implementation and success of such a plan would require affirmative action similar to the Marshall Plan for the locality by the Government. The development and implementation of such a plan has to be done in 3 phases- Stabilization Phase, Productivity Phase and Commercialization Phase.
STABILIZATION PHASE
The Stabilization Phase shall consist mostly of addressing the social grievances of the people/parties. This is most likely to be addressed by the Committee.
It is in this Phase that the Administrative and Governance Structures for Crises Resolution need to be established. Additionally, it is important to lay the foundation of the economic and productivity phase of the programme in this phase.
ADMINISTRATIVE AND GOVERNING STRUCTURE
The Statutory Government Structure, the Bachama Traditional Structure and the Herdsmen Structure have to be fused together in an Administrative Standing Committee. This would enable the 3 structures to function harmoniously and effectively. It is this Administrative Standing Committee that shall form the foundation of any Crises Resolution Team within the locality.
Other members of the Crises Resolution Team should include the grassroots economic, political, bureaucratic, intellectual, military/security and religious (clergy) elites.
• Where there are herdsmen and other people that are settled or semi settled within a locality then the Bachma clan in that locality should adopt them and guarantee their security in that locality.
• Any herdsman that enters a locality must communicate the presence of his cows in the locality to the Ardo. The Ardo would report the presence of the cows to the Diywarde (Mai Jimilla) who would escalate the report to the Kpana (Hakimi) and then to the Homan (Sarki) as necessary.
• The Bachamas who have adopted any clan of herdsmen or settlers would be held responsible for any raid on the settler community or any herdsmen and their cows so long as the herdsmen have reported the presence of the cows in that locality.
• The Ardo and his clan would be held responsible for any raid undertaken by herdsmen in that locality.
INCREASE IN PRODUCTIVITY PHASE
Land Demarcation
• Feedlots, cattle routes and cattle markets should be clearly marked, demarcated/delineated. Rules of usage should also be enacted for them.
• Water points shall be for the commons and no one should pay for water except where it is pumped/supplied using electricity or fossil fuel.
[Water points are usually flash points due to the close proximity of herdsmen and farmers. Access to water points must therefore be well demarcated/delineated and well managed.]• The Productivity Phase should be built primarily around the ability of the farmer to produce surplus that could be converted into cattle feed. Each settlement shall be assisted to cultivate the land to produce surplus. This would require training in improved farming techniques, access to inputs such as improved seedlings, agrochemicals and extension services.
[This would also require affirmative action from Government.]• Each settlement shall be encouraged to establish a simple inexpensive feedlot along cattle routes. The excess produced by the farmers shall be converted into cattle feed and sold at the feedlots. Any herdsman whose cattle feed from the feedlots shall pay. These feedlots would be particularly useful during the dry season. It should be noted that the feedlots are not the same as the grasslands that belong to the commons; the protocols should therefore be different.
• Services that shall be found at the feedlots should include crop extension services, livestock extension services and other inputs including hiring of tools, equipment and machines. The feed lots should be the hub of agricultural activities for that area.
These activities around the feedlots would create a symbiotic socio-economic relationship between the herdsmen and farmers thus leading to greater peace.
COMMERCIALISATION PHASE
• It is important that the cattle routes be connected to the nearest cattle markets in the locality. There is no reason why new cattle markets cannot be opened within the Bachama enclaves such as Numan and Lamurde towns if the peace initiatives work. It is also important to establish grain markets in these localities. This would boost the local economy and generate revenue for the Local Government Areas and the State Government.
POINTS TO NOTE
• The natural progression of this arrangement is a shift from open grazing to zero-grazing especially if farmers are able to produce enough cattle feed. Many have however advocated for ranching without realizing that it has a stocking density of 2.5 Cows per hectare (a hectare being 10,000 000m2 or 2 Soccer fields).
. Traditionally, a small Fulani herd (Garke) is 30 cows and a large herd is 40 Cows. It therefore means that a herdsman requires/needs 12 Ha or 24 soccer fields co-joined to keep just 30 Cows. How many places have such abundance of land unallocated and how many herdsmen could be settled using this standard stocking density? Moreover if so much land is granted the herdsmen outside the grazing reserves it would only lead to another crises hence ranching might not be the most viable solution.
• Zero-Growing on the other hand is when cows are confined in a small space and all inputs such as water and feeds are provided for them and their waste cleansed. This is similar to keeping poultry in a cage with all the attendant inputs and management requirements. However one must recall that for this to occur then farmers must be organized to produce poultry feeds. This is the same arrangement that is required for zero-grazing to occur. My opinion is that this is very possible and it would create a lot of employment opportunities for the teeming youth in Numan and Lamurde. It would also create a boost for the economy.
CONCLUSION
• This Paper has predominately looked at the economic aspects of developing a grassroots socio-economic programme that would lead to greater peace in Numan and Lamurde Local Government Areas of Adamawa State.
.It is my humble opinion that these suggestions are workable especially if improved upon and implemented properly.
• The Paper is for public use. Kindly improve on it and use it for the benefit of humanity without referring to me or reverting back to me.
Most Humbly
Sen. Abdul-Aziz M. Nyako
21 June 2020.
