NAN-DS-9
Herdsmen
By Alex Anayo Enebeli
Ezeagu (Enugu State), Nov. 4, 2016 (NAN) A non-governmental organisation, Cleen Foundation, has waded into the tension brewing between herdsmen and some host communities in Ezeagu Local Government Area in Enugu State.
At a round-table conference at the local government secretariat in Aguobu-Owa on Friday, the organisation called all the concerned parties to resolve the impending crisis.
Tension built up in the area recently when a herdsman allegedly chopped off the hand of an indigene at Afor Ugwu, Aguobu Owa during a disagreement.
Speaking at the round-table, the Divisional Police Officer at Aguobu Owa, Mr Donald Nwafor, said the police could not take action as the two parties agreed to out-of-court settlement.
In his submission, the South East Chairman of Miyetti Allah, Sarki Gidado Sadiq, blamed the conflict between his people and their host communities on mutual suspicion.
Sadiq noted that some of the herdsmen had lived in the South East for more than 50 years and did not know any other home apart from their current abode.
“If other local government areas in Enugu State toe the line of Ezeagu, there will be mutual co-existence between the Fulani and their host communities in the state,’’ he said.
Speaking on behalf of the host communities, the traditional ruler of Ogwofia Owa, Igwe Tom Inyama, said that it took two to make peace.
Inyama said that any peace brokered without taking into consideration the interest of the two parties was meaningless.
“Their cattle have been destroying crops in our farmlands. So, when I got invitation to come to this workshop, I said I must be there because this is an opportunity to solve this problem.
“There is an adage in our place that if you are creating wealth, you do not go about destroying another person’s own wealth.
“We are farming, they are farming of a sort. But, why should they destroy our own?
“In looking for solution to a problem like this, it is good to postulate theories, but we should look at real life situations.
“For me, for peace to reign, there should be a form of identification to know who owns the cattle so that you know the person to hold responsible when cattle destroys a farmland,’’ he said.
Earlier, the Programme Officer of Cleen Foundation, Mr Ifeanyi Anyanwu, said the group was concerned with the clashes between the herdsmen and host communities and decided to intervene.
Anyanwu said that the workshop on conflict management and crime prevention would be taken to other problem areas.
He said the foundation which focused on the promotion of security, law enforcement and access to justice, started with five local government areas selected across the country.
He said that the organisation picked Ezeagu in Enugu State, Ebonyi local government in Ebonyi, Isuikwuato in Abia as well as in Oyo and Ekiti states.
In a presentation, a resource person, Isioma Nkemakonam, noted that in the past, clashes between herders and farmers were limited to fighting and destruction of properties.
He noted that in the recent past, there had been reported incidents of robbery, killings, abduction, rape and communal violence.
Participants at the workshop include representatives of the police, the Department of State Services, the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps and neighbourhood watch groups. (NAN)
AAE/MNA/MVO
(Edited by Maureen Atuonwu/Mbadiwe Okwor)