By Mercy Abang<\/p>\n
In Sabondaga, a small village of predominantly farmers in Niger State, many
\nof the locals are still counting their losses following the invasion of
\nFulani Herdsmen. The attacks have continued even as concerns remain
\nunabated over the possibility of unprecedented hunger and famine in Nigeria
\nas a result of drought, conflicts and economic instability.<\/p>\n
One of them is 55-year old yam farmer, Yusuf Dangwari who spoke to me with
\nhis cap in his hand and tears in his eyes. “The herdsmen attacked us on
\nTuesday, 10th January 2017 at about 11:am”, he started, pausing to cry
\nprofusely as we inspected the farm. “We were helpless. As you can see, they
\nmoved from one yam barn to another burning all we have worked for over the
\nyears \u2013 about 500 million naira gone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sabondaga community of about 20,000 people has been turned into a ghost
\ntown – the villagers have all fled for their lives – hunted by the fear of
\ngetting killed should they return.<\/p>\n
The attacks by migrant herdsmen on indigenous farmers has gone on unabated
\nfor decades but has heightened within the last two years, with the
\nnomads wrecking havoc from Enugu state to Southern Kaduna region and Agatu
\ncommunity in Benue State.<\/p>\n
Dangwari was inconsolable. \u201cThis is the height of man\u2019s inhumanity to man,
\nwhere do I start from? Who will even give me the seedlings to start all
\nover?\u201d
\nAt some point again in the course of this inspection, he paused, stopped
\ntalking, sat on the debris and screamed; his voice reverberated across the
\nempty walls and into the empty village, a testimony to the absence of his
\nfellow villagers who had all fled following the invasion.<\/p>\n
A recent study by a United States-based group, the Famine Early Warning
\nSystems Network has revealed that already people in 45 countries were
\nunable to feed themselves largely because of different forms of disasters
\nand economic crises.<\/p>\n
The study by FEWS NET shows that, \u201cthe combined magnitude, severity and
\ngeographic scope of anticipated emergency food assistance needs during 2017
\nare unprecedented in recent decades and about 70 million people were in
\nneed of food aid\u201d.<\/p>\n
For Nigeria, however, with a seven-year insurgency by the Boko Haram group
\nin the North-East leading to famine in the area in 2016, and an ongoing
\nEconomic recession that appears to coexist with inflation, where cost of
\nitems have continued to go up \u2013 Mamman Dawu, another middle aged farmer
\nsays \u201cwith the magnitude of grains, crops, yams burnt during the attack –
\nwe will not have food items to take to the market\u201d.<\/p>\n
For the Gbagy\/Gbari people of Niger State, farming has been their major
\noccupation for centuries, \u201cthis attack will take a long time to heal”,
\nsaid Dauda Musa, also a farmer. “The herdsmen say they want to take over
\nour land and chase us out \u2013 but we will rather die than submit to this
\nlevel of bullying.\u201d
\nBut the crops have not been the only losses. 62-year old Alhaji Isa Dogo
\nsaid it wasn\u2019t only the crops that was destroyed, \u201cOn the 17th of January
\n2017, when the herdsmen invaded us in Barkuta Nuwakobi village along Garuta
\nroad \u2013 they stole 300 of our cows, killed our brother, Ibrahim Saidu who
\nconfronted them \u2013 he was slaughtered\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn jubilation, they attacked our community, burning all our people labour
\nfor, armed with cutlass and AK47 riffles \u2013 destroying all they could set
\ntheir eyes on\u201d Alhaji Dogo claims Policemen, civil defence officials as
\nvillagers were all slaughtered in the process.<\/p>\n
In November 2015, Global Terrorism Index named Nigeria\u2019s Fulani militant as
\nfourth deadliest terror group in the world.<\/p>\n
The report revealed that the \u201clittle-known group, formed of individuals
\nfrom the semi-nomadic pastoral ethnic group Fula people existing across
\nseveral West African nations, has seen a dramatic escalation of its
\nactivities in the past year\u201d.<\/p>\n
A 35- year old Fulani who spoke in his native Fufulde language told this
\nreporter through a local interpreter that the invasion of the community was
\nto retaliate the killing of a Fulani by the community. The man who stays at
\nthe IDP Camp provided for only the Fulanis by General Abdulsalami Abubakar
\n(a farm land settlement) insisted that villagers often attack his people
\ntoo and the stories go unreported but no Fulani man will forgive the
\nkilling of another Fulani\u201d.
\nOnly recently, a lawmaker from Niger East Senatorial district, Senator
\nDavid Umaru, claimed that cattle rustlers and armed bandits murdered over
\n400 people across various communities in the zone in 2016.<\/p>\n
Senator Umaru, told reporters in Minna that several livestock including
\ncows were rustled, while women and girls were abducted and raped by the
\nmarauders who also burnt houses and other property.<\/p>\n
He listed some of the communities to include Kaure, Kusasun, Mwaignu, Sabon
\nGida, Kwaki, Ajata, Kushaka, Bagna, Bassa\/Kukoki, Allawa in Shiroro and
\nRafi local government areas.<\/p>\n
Dangwari who lost all he had is seeking refuge in Suleja (a community
\nkilometres away from Abuja, the capital city) with his paternal uncle – he
\nhopes to get a capital to start life in the city and never go back to his
\nvillage.<\/p>\n
***<\/p>\n
*Mercy Abang** is a Journalist \u2013 Media Fixer with Sunday Times of London,
\nBBC, Aljazeera and a former Stringer with the Associated Press \u2013 She tweets
\nat @abangmercy..*<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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