One issue that has gained currency and has continued to dominate discourse, debate and controversy in the socio-political life of Nigeria today is the farmers-herders communal clash which in so many incidental occurrences, have claimed the lives of so many innocent citizens including women and vulnerable children who are usually caught off guard in the sadistic cross- fire unpredictably.

In debating the issue, opinions are divided among those who openly side with the Fulanis and those who opposed them and their way of life.

In this interview, a community leader and someone who has passionately interacted with the Fulanis right from his childhood, Mal Abdulkarim Muhammad Abdullahi who is a Media Executive with apathy for the rural community and the Talakawa masses at large, believes the Fulanis are generous victims of a society that has blossomed beyond its moral boundaries and are not violently villainous as currently being disengiously characterised.

Infact, according to Mallam Abdulkarim’s empirical and anthropological investigations, the Fulani herders would naturally seem to be more indigenous to the Nigerian type of Savannah vegetation belt and could be even more entitled to legitimate Nigerian citizenship, than some of their chronic haters in the thick forests, speaking pre-historically, without emotions nor prejudice.

Excepts

Question Please can you tell us what is your attraction to the Fulanis? How did you come in contact with them ?

Answer: Thank you for that question. Let me start with the saying that experience is the best teacher and an acid test for reality, according to a popular Hausa proverb.

My relation with them dates back to my early childhood where we grew up in the midst of different Fulani groups who migrated and settled in my community of Anguwan-Doka in Kokona Local Government of present Nasarawa State.

During that period, we experienced very cordial and mutually beneficial relationships with the Fulani herders and even resulted in inter-marriages and this has developed up to present time.

Infact, the storyline of my family relationship with the nomadic Fulani, cannot be considered complete without narrating the good rapport and respect for the rule of law among all inhabitants of the community.

I’m aware of the obvious facts of my childhood, that since the time I was growing up in the tiny hamlet-sized village of Angwan or Unguwar Dokan Rini where the powerful and legendary Madakin Keffi, Magajj Dan-Yamusa maintained as his Administrative headquarters/Lodge and war camp.

Actually, the Hausa Habe stock of Hausa migrants from Kano were tagged “Gwandara” a slang which stands as an appellation for all the indigenous Hausa speaking people who deserted and fled Kano in droves to avoid converting to Islam.

It should be noted that Kokona village was founded by Ari from Kano, which was our first base though Angwandoka was earlier used as our farm House.

Our grandparents traced their roots to Dawakin Tofa just a few Kilometers from Kano Municipal City Center.

It’s very important to know that Dawakin Tofa, is part and parcel of ancient Kano history and has been a famously prominent tie and dye center since the era of the trans- Saharan Caravan route from Kano, which traversed across the West Coast of Africa and meanders through
Colonial Nigerian towns and kingdoms.

One very good and important information to know and note is that the difference between the life of a cattle Rancher-cum cattleman and cattle breeder is that a cattle rancher’s domain is in the bush while the cattle breeder is home based so you can see the reason for my close affinity with the Fulani herders from childhood because my family’s home was a little cattle Ranch within the vicinity of the city environment.
After all, there’s no much difference vocationally speaking as it were.

Dawakin Tofa is historically famous for its Tye & Dye craftsmanship and our forefathers introduced the trades to Kokona and Anguwwan Doka, where the skills flourished and transformed Angwan-Dokan Rini village from a farmhouse to a booming Craftsmens Tie and Dyeing crafts and weaving Center Legacy Settlement with a bubbling Mining Camp as a bonus.

To this date, the relic remains of the monuments are still locketable in both Kokona and Angandokan Rini, which the Waziri family as our forefathers were officially turban by the Great Magaji Danyamusa who jointroduced as inheritance and we intend to revive it in the nearest future.

Perhaps, it is imperative to know that our forefathers from Dawakin Tofa founded Angwan Doka

In those days there was complete adherence to law and order and any herder who is careless to allow his animals to trespass a farmer’s land, would be surcharged and compelled to pay a compulsory levy equivalent of the money estimated to cover the amount for compensation of the damages.

This was made easier by the foresight of a very popular and pragmatic disciplinarian Fulani leader or Ardo called Mishere Dandaudu Maishanu kamar Teku.

The Ardon promptly and dispassionately settles all disputes arising from within and outside the community that involves the Fulanis.

This is a sharp contrast with what obtains today when poor leadership exerted by multiple corruption have impinged the arts of good governance at all levels of the Society.

Ardo Mishere Dandaudu was a popular and charismatic leader, who made our farm his second home and always on good trust always left behind some of his herds, especially the sick and old in the custody of my grandparents.
The Ardon and his large family clans settled in my family’s more than 10 Acres of Saura/follow landscape

I am sure many listeners of Radio Kaduna in those days of mutually indemnified and collectively integrated reciprocal humanity would recall the sonorous songs the late Mamman Shata grooved for him as a tribute and described him as Mishere Dandaudu, Ardon Ardodi.

Question The Fulani-farmers problem has been raging for a long time. What do you think is the cause of friction between them ?

Answer : Well for me, I will start by saying that I am one person that is absolutely convinced that,it was politically motivated with the adventurously instigated advent of the Biafaran seperetist movement in the 60’s.

Regardless of the circumstancial reason for the hostile situation, the Fulani herders do not deserve to be so intolerently and disgustingly discriminated against like is the case in Nigeria especially in the South East former Biafran enclave, where even Cyprian Ekwensi dedicated an entire Novel to glorify their impact in the society.

This is contrary to the contemporary negative bias and violent vibes against them, nowadays as if they are new, unwanted creatures from Mars.

Sometimes, I believe and think, Nigerians are the greatest ingrates on earth, when I reflect and look back at the level of the economic and social support the Fulani herders had generously rendered in our rural communities, in terms of our food security and sustainable agricultural productivity even before the advent of the European colonial operators of the Union Jack on the shores of the African continent .

Even for those who out of sheer mischiefs and religious bigotry covertly concealed and contextualized their grievances, they obviously seemed to have forgotten that tha Fulani herders were our foremost African brothers and strategic saviours against famine and hunger, which was so much a common pestilence and major plague that were sources of our uncontrollable calamities as a result of our calamitous and unpredictable weather conditions.

The Fulani herders were so crucially relevant and valuably indispensable in our African survival reality to be now treated with disdainful contempt like unwanted common criminals in the society where major crooks, like treasury looters and armed and pen bandits freely move in and out of our midst, like house flies.
I will never tolerate any actions that denigrate the integrity of the Fulani herders not under my watchful knowledge of history.

Given the above scenario and when all the chips are down give it or take it, my guts feeling it that, based on rational not irrelevantly irrational thinking motivated by ethno-religious mentality, the Fulani herders are helpless victims that are perpetually and permanently held in bondage,as victims because of their level of literacy and are therefore susceptible to elites cheatings and virtually more sinned against than being the sinners.

ENDS