Desertification: Zamfara herders lament scarcity of water

The two shallow wells, excavated from the sandy bed of the Korama stream, which takes a north -south course west of Gidan Shaho, serves both humans and animals. With Nigeria said to be currently losing about 350,000 square metres of its land mass to the encroaching Sahara desert, which is advancing southwardly at an estimated […]

The two shallow wells, excavated from the sandy bed of the Korama stream, which takes a north -south course west of Gidan Shaho, serves both humans and animals. With Nigeria said to be currently losing about 350,000 square metres of its land mass to the encroaching Sahara desert, which is advancing southwardly at an estimated rate of 0.6 kilometres a year, the impact on both humans and animals can be anything but harsh.  
Increased population and livestock pressure on land seems to have accelerated desertification. In some areas, herders’ tendency to move to less arid areas in search of greener pastures unsettle the local ecosystem and increase the rate of erosion of the land. Incidentally, pastoralists try to get away from the desert, but with their land use practices, obliviously set off another process of desertification in their new communities. They would move on soon after, taking with them their land use practices and leaving a trail of desert behind, and the chain goes on.
Desert encroachment has disrupted ecological balance of most communities in the northern region of Nigeria, having negative impact on the daily lives of people living there. Sunday Trust investigation reveals that scarcity of water for both man and animal is becoming the most pronounced challenge for communities in the frontline states of Borno, Yobe, Jigawa, Adamawa, Kano, Zamfara, Kebbi, Katsina and Sokoto.
Speaking to Sunday Trust, Alhaji Yeti Maishanu said getting water for his over 100 herd of cattle is a big challenge, adding that Galibo, the community where they live used to have boreholes but they have all spoiled so they have to dig wells to get water for the cattle.
“We don’t have water for us, humans, and for our animals. It is a big challenge for us but we do not have the capacity to tackle it. Besides not having water, we don’t have grasses to graze our cattle. We rely on hay, chaff from guinea corn and millet and groundnut cake to feed the cattle,” he said.
The old Fulani herder said with insecurity everywhere in the country, it is no longer safe moving from one place to another in search of grazing land and water.
“Cattle rustling is on the increase and communal clashes resulting from herders-farmers scramble for land and water too has become commonplace so it is not always the best roaming from state to state in search of grasses and water. We are praying that government will open up ranges or grazing communities for us and provide all the needed amenities so that those of us who are on the fringes of the desert will not feel the impact much,” the kola nut chewing Maishanu said.
He said as it is now, herders are not factored in national planning, lamenting that pastoralists are left to the mercy of nature. “Nobody cares about us. Nobody plans for us. Okay, now you are talking about Sahara Desert but nobody cares how that is affecting our occupation and sadly too, nobody is planning to ameliorate our plight,” he added.
Another Fulani herder, Adamu Rufai, fair complexioned and diminutive in structure, said grazing in the far north of the country is increasingly becoming a very big problem for herders. He said lack of water and grazing land has forced most of their people to migrate to neighbouring countries of Cameroon and Niger, adding that others have moved southward, settling on the edges of the Niger and Benue valleys, where there is both water and grasses for the cattle.
 “I decided to stay in Zamfara because of the risk of moving from one place to another. There have been crises in Benue, Nasarawa, Taraba, Plateau and Kaduna states and that has cost us dearly. Sometimes a herder loses his whole herd of cattle to such crisis so you are always calculating between going to where you will get water and grass for your cattle and at the same time lose everything when crisis erupts,” Rufai said.
He explained that the answer to their problem lies with the government providing grazing communities for them, complete with social amenities so that they too can feel valued.
 Meanwhile, the village head of Gidan Shaho, Alhaji Rafi Rabiu, also said the biggest challenge the community is facing is that of water scarcity. He decried that as early as December the rustic community begins to groan under the scarcity of water and by the time rain begins to fall and the stream fill up life becomes so unbearable for the local folks.
He said the village has a population of over 3, 000 persons but has no source of water apart from the stream. He praised the government for electrifying the clustered community of mud, low roofed houses, but said he would be grateful if water too was provided for the people.
“Our only borehole has spoiled for over a year now and since then we have been facing the challenge of getting water for drinking. And since we do not have another alternative source of water, we depend on the stream for all our water needs. I am not a health worker but I know that the water is unhygienic for drinking because it is coloured and thick,” he said
“We have channeled our complaint to the local government severally but nothing has happened. At the community level we have repaired the borehole twice but it broke down again. I think the pressure on it is too much and even if it is repaired, it will get spoiled again, so the best thing is for the government to dig another one for us,” Rabiu added.
He said his people are both farmers and herders, lamenting that desertification is making life difficult for the rural dwellers. “As herders, our livestock doesn’t get enough water and grass to eat. As farmers, we don’t get good yields because of drought. Besides, the wind most of the times uproots our crops, resulting to huge losses. We plant groundnut, beans, potatoes, millet, guinea corn and ridi but the harvest is not as bountiful as we expect. Our major problem during the farming season is the raging wind which destroys our crops. Unfortunately, there are no trees to break the speed of the wind. We have planted few trees at our settlement and not on the farmlands,” he said.
Rabiu, however said that government planted trees at the nearby settlement of Galibo but they (trees) died for lack of water.
Environmentalists believe trees have stabilizing effect on the environment, stressing that when upland watersheds are left bare, heavy rains wash the soil with any crop planted on it into the valleys below. In the dry areas, trees are said to provide fertility to the soil and protect it from water and wind erosions.  With wood a main source of fuel in rural areas, when the populace exhausts the supply of firewood, the use of crop residues then comes handy. These residues, scientists say are relevant in protecting the soil because they reduce water runoff thereby encouraging percolation. Where the water runs off quickly, soil erosion is accelerated and water levels drop underground causing wells to dry.
A young man, Ibrahim Aminu from Rukudawa village, also in Zurmi local government, said he had to leave the village and come to live in town because life was becoming unbearable. “Getting grasses for livestock to graze during the dry season and giving the animals water to drink during the dry season is one of our biggest problems. Even farming is difficult so I had to take a different occupation from my forefathers,” he said.
Aminu added that unless government constructs dams and creates grazing reserves, many young men from that part of the country cannot go into farming or herding.
“Many young men like me don’t want to venture into either farming or keeping livestock because of the environmental challenges thrown up by desertification. So if the government really cares about us then something must be done beyond the afforestation project it has undertaken. The government planted trees in Galibo but they died for lack of care. In my lay man’s view, adequate water supply should precede planting of trees. When you don’t even have water to drink how will you bother to water trees,” he said.
He said he prefers commercial motorcycling, popularly called okada, to either farming or herding, because he gets quick money from his new occupation.
Desert encroachment has been linked with high poverty rate, hunger, social ills, and loss of bio-diversity as well as natural resources in the affected regions in Nigeria. Recent reports on poverty indices in Nigeria have shown that northern states are still high on the poverty index and desertification may just be one of the contributing factors.
Desertification also leads to conflicts amongst communities competing for freshwater and pasture. In the dry season, herders graze on crops residue that farmers preserve to protect and enrich the ferruginous soil from further degradation. So, sometimes competition for things as little as these can lead to conflicts. These conflicts can often lead to clashes and eventual loss of lives and properties. The problem also leads to migration from the rural areas to the urban centres.

The climatic changes-manifest most conspicuously in desertification and its attendant hardship on the locals-have an overall impact on the environment. The rainfall pattern in Zamfara state varies base on the geography of the area. The mean annual rainfall from the northern parts differs significantly from that of the southern parts of the state. For example, while Gumir records an average of 579mm of rainfall, Talata  Mafara records 798mm, Kaura Namoda 990mn  and Moriki 1,020mm. Rain resumes, on the average, between early April and May, lasting for about six months till the end of October.
Two types of soils can be found in Zamfara, which to a large extent has determined the vegetation of the area. The ferruginous tropical soils can be found in the northern and central parts of the state, particularly around Gummi, Bukkuyum, Anka and Bakura. Other areas in which such soil occur include Talata Mafara, Zurmi, Birnin Magaji, Shinkafi and Kaura Namoda. The soils are characterized by a sandy surface horizon, with a clayey subsoil, both of which are fertile for agricultural production.
They are however, susceptible to erosion, since the top soil is easily washed off by rainwater, especially if the vegetation cover is removed. On the other hand, lithosols, usually associated with ferruginous soils, can be found towards the eastern part of the State, particularly in such areas as Tsafe, Gusau, Maru and Bungudu. The soil is not only of low agricultural productivity but are also susceptible to erosion.
The vegetation of the state consists of Sudan and Northern Guinea Savannah. The Sudan Savanna occurs in the western, northern and eastern parts of the state. Like in other parts of the country where this biome occurs, it is structurally characterized by woodlands, where grasses occur either totally or mixed with other herbaceous or shrubby plants. They are green in the rainy season with fresh leaves, but become withered during the dry season. To the southern part of the state, is found the Northern Guinea Savannah. This vegetation type is largely found in Tsafe, Gusau and Anka local governments.
Efforts to speak with the Commissioner of Environment in Zamfara state failed as at the time our reporter visited in mid-January 2015, as he said to be busy on the campaign trail of the governor.