Fulani nomads: FG restriction, other problems will destroy our lifestyle

Weekly Trust spent three months with nomadic Fulani, exploring the shrinking world of the herdsman, who is not only losing his herd of cows, but is also slowly losing his identity.  Last week’s sudden announcement by the Federal Government of its intention to provide 100 billion Naira for states to set up mini ranches, and […]

Weekly Trust spent three months with nomadic Fulani, exploring the shrinking world of the herdsman, who is not only losing his herd of cows, but is also slowly losing his identity. 

Last week’s sudden announcement by the Federal Government of its intention to provide 100 billion Naira for states to set up mini ranches, and the government’s plan to ban the movement of cattle all over the country, shows that the country may be looking the way of its 30 million nomads, even as there are varying responses to this new proposal by the federal government. Professor Rasheed Aderinoye ,Executive Secretary, National Commission for Nomadic Education(NCNE)  applauds the news ,but Saleh Momale, Acting Executive Director, of The Pastoral Resolve, thinks ‘the idea  is not well thought out and rather hasty’. Baba  Othman Ngelzarma, National Secretary General, Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) like Aderinoye above ,welcomes  the  announcement ,but argues for the establishment of a Ministry of Livestock as occurs in many west African countries .Barrister Tukur Bello, Acting Secretary General, CORET, argues that  with the announcement ,the government  is in breach of a number of international treaties and obligations regarding the free movement of persons and cattle, such as ECOWAS, AU, and  that the government violates the constitution by banning the  movement of cattle from one part of Nigeria to another. It also amounts to ‘ethnic profiling of the nomadic Fulani’, he emphasises. (See box) .
The large scale neglect of pastoralism itself, can explain widespread incidents of cattle rustling in parts of Nigeria. A two year prison sentence, or an option of 5,000 Naira , if the rustler confesses in court ,as penalty for rustling, increases ,rather than hinders incidents of rustling ,some will argue. These facts are confirmed by Tukur Bello. A picture of desolation rises before the visitor’s eyes while travelling through many lonely, forested parts of the north, investigating the impact of rustling on the nomadic Fulani. Some have migrated southwards as one found in Cross River and Ebonyi states. The  kraals and farms  up north are empty  and the herdsmen are  worried  and  suicidal .They sleep  little or not at all, and with red eyes they watch the slow collapse of their economy and the  erosion of the  pastoral way  of life .Sleep has now left their  eyes, just as  numberless cows vanished before their gaze. The memory of the  midnight raid when 100 cows were taken away at gunpoint, leaving the nomad with  a trembling  calf, and a shocked family to comfort, cripples the will. Their world is now losing  its core and has started to shrink. With the loss of  cows, the women now  depend on their husbands more than before .Cattle rustling must be creating  a huge hole in  Nigeria’s population of 16 million cows, going by the last census done in the 90s.Dr Muhammad AliGana of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, says ‘As at the last census in Nigeria conducted for livestock, we have 16 million cows. But with rustling ,the population must have reduced drastically.’ The cow is  the pivot around which the life of the nomad rotates.
Dr. Nafissatu D. Mohammed, former Executive Secretary of the National Commission for Nomadic Education (NCNE), and now a lecturer at the NDA Kaduna, opines ‘The cows are a store of wealth. All the earnings of the nomad are stored in the animal, and it gives them their status, their prestige, and everything that helps us to define ourselves. ‘She explains ‘There are psychological, mental and social consequences associated with the theft of cows among the nomads.’ Yusuf Bosso, Vice President ( 1 )MACBAN  agrees, saying  ‘The nomads and their cows are like brothers. If I have 100 cows, each cow has a mark. When you know your cows, they also know you, and each cow has a name. When you go to the cows and call the name of the one you want, it will come towards you.’ The loss of cows irks the women immensely. The preparation and sale of Fura de Nono (millet and yoghurt meal), cheese, oil and other products from the cow belong to women. This is her favourite hearth from which emerge streams of delicacies for friends and family .It is normal to find nomads who have turned to farming, commerce and the cattle trade, activities which the nomads won’t have engaged in previously. There are some who engage in rope making. These  ropes are used  to tie the cows, but in many cases there are no cows to tie. Some nomads procure sophisticated weapons, and  grab entire herds in the dead of night  and vanish. It reads like  a film ,but this  is real life for the nomads .
In settlements around Gwagwalada, the nomads have turned to ‘Kamu’, a soft meal made from Guinea Corn, for  breakfast, since milk is no longer available . Now, the children raise their voices, asking their mothers to restore the milk diet, since ‘they are used to milk, rather than Kamu’, making the parents to do an early morning walk to get milk to stop the chatter of  the little ones. Fura de Nono is becoming scarce, and in some places, powdered milk is used to create the yoghurt by the women. This is a very costly effort, for she must buy several tins of the milk, to achieve that creamy, lovely richness as of old.
Not since the outbreak of Rinderpest in the 80s when 25million cows perished in Nigeria, has an event of such  crippling capacity, come upon their herds and upon the herdsmen and their families. At a Fulani settlement just off the Gwagawalada-Paiko road, Weekly Trust meets  Isa Ali  who lost 105 cows,36 sheep and 1 goat in April when the rustlers visited the area. He describes the rustlers ‘There were 24 thieves. 4 of them wore military uniforms. They had sophisticated weapons which they fired very close to our village ,and people fled when they heard the  guns. I then called the  police ,who said that they don’t have enough weapons to engage the rustlers. They also said that they don’t have fuel in their vehicles. ‘These stories have pushed the nomads to  simply refuse reporting  to  the police, whom they accuse  of conniving with the rustlers. This opinion is widespread in the north. Police spokesman,  CPL Emmanuel Ojukwu, responds to  this ‘That’s not true. It will be uncharitable to accuse the police of conniving with criminals. Our job is to stop the criminals, and bring them to justice. However, if someone knows a policeman who is involved  in such a crime, he should let us know, so we can deal with it, and sanitise the system. I will say it is not true. The police are involved in stopping incidents of cattle theft across the country. ‘On  the absence of vehicles at police stations in parts of the country ,he adds ‘That the police do not have vehicles or weapons in that area is nothing new. It is the equipment we get from Nigeria, that we use to serve Nigerians. That the police don’t have vehicles in the area is nothing new to anybody in this country’. Responding to the widely held feeling that the rustlers are better equipped than the police, he says ‘We are a civil force. The arms we have are enough to fight incidents of crime, including cattle rustling, and there is no way they can have superior firepower over the police. The Inspector general of Police is coming out very soon with a  very strong blueprint on how to deal with the issue of cattle rustling. We will soon come out smoking hot on this matter. Already 14 helicopters have been purchased to this effect.’
Kidnapping is also another new feature of life among the nomadic Fulani. Weekly Trust visited the Fulani settlement at Itobe, Kogi  state , to do interviews with members of the community who had been kidnapped, but later released. Suddenly, upon arriving and stating our mission, the Fulani present refused to speak, including an  elderly nomad who had just been released by his kidnappers. Very soon, my guide wrote on a sheet of paper  ‘at least 5 kidnappers are present at this  gathering. This explains why nobody is  willing to speak. There will be consequences if anyone speaks. I think we should leave.’ We left. In Kogi state, what one finds is a situation where the nomads pounce on wealthy Fulani, and kidnap them for a ransom which often runs into millions of Naira .These ransoms are usually paid after the cows have been sold, and so this is also having an adverse effect on the  population of cows, further impoverishing the nomads.
During a visit to the Ladduga grazing reserve in Kaduna state, a  Lady mentioned that she is hypertensive. Then all the women gathered exclaimed in one voice ‘We are all hypertensive. Every single one of us is hypertensive.’ With the death of their husbands at the hand of the rustlers , life became very difficult for the women who have many children to feed. These are women united by the loss of their husbands, usually by violent means. They have no money  to buy medicines ,or to look after themselves and their families. Some of them ‘live in rooms, made of leaves ‘,they tell me.
Yusuf Bosso explains the reasons behind cattle rustling. His words ‘the reason why some of our people entered this business of cattle rustling, is because some of them don’t have cows. If the nomads experience a disaster and lose their cows, the government won’t come to their aid. This is why some of the nomads sometimes engage in rustling’. Baba Ngelzarma  argues. ‘As it is now we don’t benefit from the government .An average Fulani enjoys nothing from government’. ‘Mohammed Hussaini, Secretary, MACBAN, Nasarawa state, says that over 10,000 cows were stolen in the state in the last one year, and adds ‘The law that prosecutes cattle rustling is supposed to be reviewed by the federal government. When a cattle rustler confesses in a court of law, that he stole 50 cows, the court can sentence him to two years, or one year, or an option of 5,000 Naira fine. This is a surprising law. Tomorrow, the man will be back in the bush continuing his business.’ The situation is dire for the nomad when he loses his cows. He explains ‘90% of the nomadic Fulani are not learned. They have no occupation except cattle rearing. If they lose their cows, they have no other occupation. When their cows are taken, they may now engage in robbery, cattle rustling and stealing’. Tukur Bello shares an opinion on the origins of rustling ‘The livelihood  of the nomads has been destroyed, and they cannot meet up with their basic needs. These people have lost their herds due to conflicts and climate change, and come back to hit at society. The average cattle herder knows nothing about tilling the soil. So, they engage in rustling and the act itself is driven by market forces. ‘
Dr Tanimu Abubakar  of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria  traces rustling  to ‘the collapse of the authority of the Nigerian state in the last seven years. Thats responsible for the  development of crimes as enterprise  in Nigeria. It is crime as enterprise ,because it can be done, perhaps for profit ,and it  can be done in front of the state, in broad daylight.’ Many have pointed to the sudden rise of a group of wealthy butchers in  many parts of the country. They buy the cows at a cheap price  from the rustlers, and sell same to customers at high rates. This explains their sudden wealth. Yusuf Bosso explains ‘The local butchers connive with the cattle rustlers. When cows have been stolen, the local butchers go to the forests to buy the cows are cheap rates. This is why some butchers are millionaires right now. For instance, if a  stolen cow is bought from the rustlers at 25,000, the butcher will go and sell it at a much higher rate. ‘Umar Adam, Chairman, United Butchers Association, Lagos ,sees the alleged link between the butchers and the rustlers as ’An attempt at blackmail. But no member of our association has been found with stolen cows, either by the police or the Fulani themselves. To me there is nothing like this.’ On the alleged sudden wealth of butchers, he says’ I have not noticed that. It is true that I spend most of my time in Lagos, but sometimes I go to Kano, and I have not noticed any sudden wealth among the butchers. ‘Nasir Danazumi, who is a butcher in Zaria, denies any link between the butchers, of which he is a part, and the rustlers. His words ‘Some people have been making that point, but its not true. We, the butchers are not working with thieves. We buy our cows from the markets, and we go through the Dillali, a middleman appointed by the local government, who goes between us and the Fulani who bring the cows to the market’. On the allegation that there is a ring of wealthy butchers in many parts of the north, he counters ‘Wealth comes from the Almighty. If a butcher is wealthy, then his wealth came from the Almighty. ‘Weekly Trust found out that an international gang of cattle thieves which  operates  a syndicate in West Africa, is  behind cattle rustling in Nigeria, using the country’s neglected but vast forests as corridors to hide and evacuate cattle. Tukur Bello explains ‘Cattle rustling is a huge criminal enterprise, and it can undermine the authority of governments. This enterprise transcends not only intra state borders, it transcends international boundaries. For instance, cows rustled in Nigeria are routed through Cameroon, and may be brought back to certain parts of Nigeria. Also, cows stolen here can be taken to Benin Republic, and again, brought back to Nigeria after a while .In summary, when cows are stolen in one country, these are taken to the borders of the next country, and the  syndicate there  collects these cows and moves them on. It is a criminal cycle’.
Cattle markets in Enugu and Ibadan revealed a conscious effort by the traders there to prevent the possibility of stolen cows from the north, being brought into the market. At the Lam Adesina International Cattle Market, located in Akinyele, Ibadan, Ado Suleiman ,who is  leader of the Hausa community there, speaks of a system of numbering which prevents stolen cows being brought to the market  ‘No cow is brought in here except it has a number. When a person buys a cow ,he puts his number on it. This is the system here. So, if  cows are brought here, without a number ,this arouses suspicion, and helps us to detect a stolen cow. For instance, through this method we were able to discover that some cows ,stolen from Borno, had been brought here. Then we sent them back to Borno.’ Alhaji Baba Ali is the Chairman, Cattle Market, Enugu. He says that there are no stolen cows at the Enugu  cattle market. His words ‘We in Enugu state do not sell stolen cows. The main reason for this is that we rely on trusted customers whom we have known for a long time. It is not possible for stolen cows to be brought here.’ Ardo Ahmed Suleiman is Chairman, MACBAN, Kaduna. According to him ‘This year is the worst year so far in Kaduna state, in terms of rustling. He speaks of ‘rising incidents of insanity, hypertension and sudden death among the nomadic Fulani in the state’, and posits ‘If government does not act in time, one day we will wake up to find that there’s no meat, and we may have to import cows. ‘He then adds ‘Rape is common when the rustlers strike. More than 100 nomadic women have been raped in the last one years. But the women do not have the confidence to come forward and make a report’.  
Why the women run
The story opens in Rugu forest. All  the villages  possess  a simple beauty ,which is made ugly by  endless accounts  of cattle theft, and  the close encounters  the villagers have had with the rustlers. Here are multiple tales of rape ,and the abduction of  wives. Rustling has triggered off a cycle of migrations, which has also reduced the number of cattle available locally. Rugu forest has suffered neglect  over the years, and   the rustlers have transformed it into a  dwelling ,a capital  of sorts from which they emerge  to rustle cows  armed with  AK47s.
Fatimah Auta  tells a moving story about a night when she  and a few other women were out with  the cows in the fields.’ About 50 armed rustlers came firing guns. They chased me and three other women, and stole our cows. Even though we were pregnant we ran for 2 hours, and they did not stop running after us until we got to our settlement. At this point they retreated. As I mentioned we were all pregnant at that time when we ran  from the rustlers. Every month we must flee from the rustlers. Most of the women here, including  the unmarried ones, have had to run for their dear lives at one point or the other ,as a result of the activities of armed rustlers. Running from rustlers  is a way of life  among the women of the forest,’ she adds  nodding her head. The other women present smile and nod their heads in agreement. There is very little to say.
On whether the women developed any medical complications arising from running while pregnant, Fatimah and the other women smile  at each other ,and say ‘We often go to the Runka clinic  the next morning after each encounter, and the Doctor always says that we are in good health.’ Now, they proudly show me their young babies given birth to  recently. The smiling mothers and their quiet babies, now form a happy  island  in a forest  lately darkened by  cattle theft and violence. Here are two faces of the forest, and there is silence for a while .The women add that Rugu forest is home, and they won’t migrate from there, even  though  the rustlers dwell nearby ,and even if they have to do the nightly marathon, if just to save their lives. Haruna Sule, another inhabitant of the forest, lost 9 cows and 8 goats to the rustlers in April  this year when they came to his house armed with guns at about 2.00 am .They also abducted  Yardada Haruna, his wife, who  seems to have fled from her captors  within an hour of being taken. She is now back with him. Almost all the settlements in the forest have been visited by the rustlers, leaving death, fear and destruction in their wake.
2,000 lives lost
 Alhaji Sada Rufa’i, Yariman Katsina and District Head of Safana, while describing the Rugu forest as ‘a capital for the cattle rustlers’, comments  on the activities  of rustlers in the area ‘They  have taken advantage of the forest, and there is no law which controls them while they are there. They do whatever they like.’ He says that 2,000  locals have been killed by the rustlers, while another very large group has migrated out of the  local government ,and countless   herds ,have also been lost. On the help provided by security operatives, he says ‘The military, police and members of the Civil Defence, are here in great numbers, and this has helped to reduce incidents of cattle  rustling in the area .’He adds that the forest has always had a magnetic pull on the nomadic Fulani , who from time immemorial have flocked  to it during the rainy season. His words ‘During the rainy season, the Fulani used to come to settle here for purposes of pasture, to avoid clashes with farmers. They settle here from July to November each year.’ According to him, the rustlers come  from a number of countries in West Africa.’ He says ‘They come from Niger, Benin Republic and Cameroon.’ He laments the fact that the rustlers seize  cows and abduct the wives of his subjects  ‘If they hear there is a new wife somewhere, they will come and seize her. So, most people do not announce weddings these days, to avoid a situation where the rustlers will come and seize the girl.’
Turning to farming, he adds that his people have lost this year’s farming season, since there are no cows in the locality  to pull the plough. He says that people now prefer to  sell off their cattle, rather than risk them being stolen, while some migrate to distant communities.  According to him life in the area has changed in so  many ways. His words ‘If the area were peaceful, as it used to be many years ago, half of the population of Nigeria’s pastoral Fulani would be in the forest today .Fulani would have come  from Gombe, Bauchi, Jalingo, Minna, and  Birnin  Gwari, and they would settle  here for 5 months at a stretch.’ Also, lorries would have arrived here from Kano ,to take milk to places like Daura and Kaduna .But now ,because of the attacks by cattle thieves, the Fulani  are no longer  coming to the forest and commercial activities  in the area have declined .The forest, which was a favourite haunt  of Sarki Muhammadu Dikko of Katsina, used to be a magnet for the nomads, but today this is no longer so. The rustlers have occupied it .’There are many of such thick forests which  have been taken by rustlers in Zamfara state. 50,000 cows were stolen by cattle rustlers in Safana local government area of Katsina state within the past year, says Alhaji Sada Rufa’i, as we sit in his office, and the call to prayer is just being made. Hassan Kuraye, Chairman, Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, (MACBAN),in Katsina state ,adds that over 1 million cows had been stolen in Katsina state  within the last one year. Ardo Ahmed Suleiman also  says that a million cows were lost to cattle rustlers in Kaduna  state during the same  period, and opines  that the rustlers are part of a gang which roams freely in West Africa. They are a group which is made up of bad nomads. They are fair skinned  people from outside Nigeria, from countries such as Chad and Sudan. They cannot speak Hausa, and they come in easily, because the borders are porous.’
A ray of hope?
News broke last week that the federal government is going to ban the movement of cattle across the country, and that it will set aside the seed sum of 100billion Naira for the establishment of mini modern ranches across the country. This was the outcome of the National Economic Council meeting which was chaired by Vice President Namadi Sambo. One of the decisions reached during the meeting, details of which were provided by Governor Gabriel Suswam of Benue state, was  that all grazing reserves and cattle routes, which have been gazetted and suffered encroachment, should be reclaimed and improved upon. Different views have arisen in response to the government’s announcement. Professor Rasheed Aderinoye says ‘I have to congratulate the government in taking the radical decision of establishing grazing reserves, in addition to the ones in place. It is a good idea and it will bring sanity to the social lives of our people. There will be peace, and there will be no conflict between pastoralists and farmers.’ He adds that there will be no need for the NCNE to engage  distance learning teachers for the purpose of bringing education to the nomads, since the nomads will all be settled in one place. Saleh Momale thinks the decision is not well thought out, and hasty. His words ‘In my view what the federal, state, and local governments need to do is to develop a framework for the development of pastoralism and livestock breeding over a long period, and sincerely and consistently work with the pastoralists and other stakeholders to implement such a programme’.
Baba Othman Ngelzarma adds ‘This news is a welcome development, and it is what we have been yearning for. Now, that this is the issue before us, Miyetti Allah will sensitise our members to accept the reality of the modern world, and embrace this idea. The population is growing, in terms of human and animal population, but the land is not increasing.’ He explains ‘If we can reclaim all existing routes and reserves, it will reduce conflict between farmers and cattle rearers.’ But  he thinks that the movement of cattle cannot be stopped all of a sudden. His words ‘We cannot stop the movement of cattle now. This has to be done gradually, considering the population of nomadic Fulani in Nigeria ,and their cattle. We have 30 million nomads in the country, and most of these reserves and stock routes are in the north.’ He is hopeful that Miyetti Allah will be asked to make a contribution to the committee, and anticipates ‘if you want to bring about a lasting peace, funding for this project has to be continuous.’ He expresses another concern of MACBAN ‘We have asked for the establishment of a Ministry of Livestock. Already, Niger, Kebbi and Gombe states have set up theirs ,and in some of the states we visited, the governments have promised to do so. We now call on the federal government to establish a federal ministry of livestock development. By this we will have a ministry to ourselves. Senegal, Mali and Niger Republic all have ministry’s of livestock, Nigeria does not have ,but the population of nomads in Nigeria far exceeds the population of the nomads in all the other countries of West Africa.’
Tukur Bello shows that there are fundamental problems with the position advanced by the state ,when it speaks about banning movement of cattle from one part of the country to another. His words’ The constitution allows for freedom of movement .You cannot ban me from moving from one part of the country to another. Also, the nomadic Fulani are being branded .This is ethnic profiling ,simply because they practice pastoralism as a vocation.’ He also speaks on the way the development is in breach of international treaties and obligations. According to him’ There are international treaties and obligations that Nigeria has committed itself to ,in terms of the movement of cattle, not necessarily into, but also outside Nigeria. There is the ECOWAS Transhumance regulation that allows for movement cattle across international borders, upon fulfilling certain conditions. If you are banning movement of cattle ,you are in breach of these obligations to which Nigeria has signed and committed itself to.’A number of courtroom battles may  seem to be in the works.
In broad daylight
Terror visited   Yargaladima in April this year, when cattle rearers numbering about 3, 000, surrounded the town and continued to shoot until 205  of its inhabitants lay still .This town is located close to Dansadau in Zamfara state, and it has always hosted countless  nomadic Fulani ,who were attracted  by its fertile fields, as well as the fact that, along with Dansadau itself, it is the major crop production area  of the state. Cattle rustling has always been a huge problem to the inhabitants of Yargaladima .Thus, in late March the security outfit in the town sent out messages to civilian security groups  in Kebbi, Niger, Kaduna and Katsina states,  which all border upon Yargaladima, inviting these groups to a meeting in the latter town to directly address the issue of cattle rustling .This was an initiative of the people. But the rustlers got wind of the planned meeting. They  planned to bring it to a halt, and so they arrived with guns blazing within the last half hour of the gathering .This explains what happened in April.
They were also seeking  the legendary Kurma,the head of the security group in Yargaladima, who is both deaf and dumb, and is said to possess great powers which can render him invisible as well as ‘bulletproof’, if a gun is fired at him  .It is said that fire won’t harm him. He  is also ‘fire proof,’ my  source says ,encouraging me to believe that these facts are true. Alhaji Adamu Ahmadu, Village Head of Yargaladima, tells Weekly Trust ‘People in this area decided to form a vigilante group to  check the activities of cattle rustlers.’ Nuhu Babangida  ,who is present, sheds more light on the events of that day. His words ‘Fulani criminal gangs  heard about the meeting and attacked the farmers who had gathered in a farm. The attackers numbered 3,000 and they wore military uniforms. At the  end of the attack 205 persons lay dead.’ The situation in Yargaladima is very dire, for the rustlers  have often stolen the cattle which the people farm with, that is, they use the cows to pull the ploughs in  the farms. According to the Village Head of Yargaladima, the people are often harassed by the rustlers right on their farms. His words ‘When you are trying to clear your farm, they will come and harass you with guns. Recently, three persons were killed in their sugarcane farms.’ Thus, a new culture has evolved in Yargaladima. This is the culture of community development.’ So, they do a community effort to clear somebody’s farm of weeds. When they finish clearing one farm ,then they go to the next one. It is better for people to go to the farms in groups.  This  is a community where ‘people cannot go to the farm with a fairly used, or new motorcycle. It will be stolen by the rustlers ’,Nuhu Babangida  says. During  the visit to Yargaladima, it  is mentioned that some of the leaders of the rustlers have just returned to the country. Nuhu Babangida ,who served as interpreter, says ‘One of the  leaders of the rustlers who went on exile  to Niger Republic,  is now back to the locality. He goes  by  the nickname of  General. Rabeh Sarki is the name of another leader of the rustlers, who has just returned to  the country.’ He anticipates that incidents of rustling in the area will worsen.
 At Dansadua, Weekly Trust meets  Danshatu Dillali, a nomad who has  suddenly become a cattle dealer. He feels very sad about the  sudden transition he has had to make .He explains that at a point he could not sleep because of the fear of being attacked. He’s  hypertensive ,he says, seeing this condition as a climax to many months of fear and worry. Hypertension is a common illness among the namads, he says. Sule Hashimu has always been a herdsman in the Dansadau area. Because of  the effects of cattle rustling, he no longer takes cows by hoof all the way to Birnin Gwari, from where they are loaded onto trailers, and then conveyed to Lagos. He describes the situation thus  ‘People used to buy cows here and give me 150 cows for me to walk to  Birnin Gwari .From Birnin Gwari, we would now hire  a trailer to convey the cows to Lagos. Now, we  cannot find a single cow to walk to Birnin Gwari. They are not there. So, now I have taken to selling firewood.I have spent 25 years taking cows to Birnin Gwari from Dansadau.’ Both Yargaladima and Dansadau are metaphors of the crippling effects of rustling, on local agricultural patterns and trade.
‘I sleep with an eye closed’
In Birnin Gwari, Isyaku Abdullahi, a herder, says that he sleeps very little these days. Sweet, beautiful sleep is something quite strange to him .According to him ‘I don’t sleep, or if I do sleep, I do so with one eye closed. I go out frequently each night to be sure that my cows are safe.’ He says that he has devised a method of protecting his cows.’ This is by the system of dividing my cows into three parts. I have one half with me, and the other two halves I have taken to a safe place, where theft is minimal. He continues to expand on  the theme of sleep. His words ‘My eyes are red ,because I don’t sleep. If the thieves come, sometimes they don’t stop at stealing the animals, they also beat or kill you, the herder. I am also thinking of leaving Birnin Gwari completely, if the situation does not improve .’He adds that 20 households have left the town as a consequence of rustling in the area, and refers to Niger and Kwara states as places  which are healthy for the nomadic Fulani.
Mahmud Ahamed is the Imam of Pole Wire, Birnin Birnin Gwari. He shows the link between the cow and the act of worship by the nomads. His words’ The Fulani keeps cows and the cows  give him joy and strength to worship the Almighty. So, that if he loses his cows, this act itself will adversely affect his capacity to worship Allah.’ On the immediate way the loss of his cows, would affect his faith, he adds ‘For instance, he would not be able to go on pilgrimage, if he has no cows. The Fulani normally sell their cows ,in order to go on Hajj. Next, he would not be able to fulfill the Zakat which is another pillar of Islam. He would not be able to do it, because with the loss of his cows, he has nothing to give to the poor. In Islam it is stated that the rich should help the poor. I am not happy with what is going on. The list goes on and on. Without his cows, he may not be able to fulfill some of the pillars of Islam. This is important.’ Within the past two years cattle rustlers had a field day in Birnin Gwari. Alhaji Abdulkadir Jibrilu, Wazirin Birnin Gwari says ‘Ibrahim Musa lost 300 cows, including some camels. At that time we had armed gangs going around taking away cows, sheep and goats, and some of them wore military uniforms. ‘It was the security units that brought a semblance of normalcy to the town.’ It may take a while yet, before the nomads of Birnin Gwari get back to a nice night rest.
 Herder in crutches
Garba Jibrin is nursing a broken thigh. It is unlikely he would be nursing a  fractured limb  today or even be in crutches  ,if his cows had not been stolen  one afternoon about nine months ago. He has, in the meantime, mastered the use of crutches, and he hobbles about with the hint of a smile on his lips. But, there are many nomads like him, who have suffered forms of physical or even psychological injury at the hands of the rustlers. Several huts make up his Ruga, which is located in a slightly forested spot a bit close to Gidan Magani in Southern Kaduna. On  that day, his  two children were out in the bush with his cows. All   of a sudden four  thieves, with axes, guns  and cutlasses came upon them, and stole his 35 cows. Garba Jibrin says ‘They attacked the elder one, and beat him to the point of death. Then they were about to behead him, when the younger one fled and came to inform me here at home. I ordered that they should  go back to the scene and swiftly take the elder one to the hospital. Then we got on a motorcycle along with three other friends, riding at a quick pace along all the paths and small roads, looking for my cows. Soon, we got onto the main road, and then a car came along and knocked us down. I ended up with a broken left thigh.’ He was taken to the nearby hospital, but  he has also used the traditional methods of healing to treat his thigh. Dalhara, the  son who was beaten unconscious, and survived an attempted beheading speaks on the experience ‘At first the thieves came saying that they were looking for cows. We replied that we had not seen any. At this point  they left. After a while they returned and attacked us. They beat  me until I became unconscious, and then they attempted to behead me.’ He adds that he is not afraid to continue herding, believing that ‘everything that happens must have been willed by the Almighty.’
Frozen plans
Dr Tanimu Abubakar’s retirement plans froze earlier this year, when 87 of his cows were stolen by armed men from his farm. The farm sits at a quiet spot, some distance off the Samaru-Giwa road ,and it is  quiet ,such that he has been able to do some academic work in its leafy surroundings, he tells me . The area is slightly forested and sometimes the Hausa performers emerge at night in the neighbouring communities  to do the Bori performance. There are economic trees, a poultry section, an  office, as  well as the section where the cows are kept at the farm .According to the Professor of Literature  at the Ahmadu Bello University ‘20 rustlers came to my farm at Tsibiri near Shika. They shot the herdsman on the head ,and he  died instantly. Then they stole 87 cows and 45 sheep. Quite a number of these were found in adjacent bushes.20 returned. Out of these 5 sustained injuries,4 died overnight.’
He mentions that he had to travel as far as Gusau, Zamfara  state ,where he recovered some of the cows. This theft has affected the farm in many ways. According to him ‘There is the tragic loss of the herdsman who left behind a wife and 8 children. We had to take the family to Kankia ,their hometown in Katsina state. Then there is a big gap now in terms of the actual plan of developing the farm. I have always lived with animals, and that is part of my life.’ The beginning of his herd started in  1985 when he started with 4 cows. His  words ‘I have been managing them carefully, in order to bring them up, and I have even taken out obligations on them like the payment of Zakat. Five years later, I introduced 4 sheep which I bought at Maigatari, and the numbers  accumulated  over  a period of 23 years. ‘He expands on the lofty idea behind the farm project ‘The idea was to go into cross breeding, milk production, meat production, and to go have an integrated farm with a fishery, poultry section and economic trees. I developed the plan when I was on Sabbatical. I needed to start putting in place plans for retirement. I now thought that it was best to go into cross breeding. If you go into cross breeding, in 6 to 7 years, you will get good stock to produce milk for economic purposes. Out of the 87 stolen,32 are cross breeds of varying ages. I was anticipating that in the next 3 years, they  will mature, and then I will go into serious milk and meat production. Also, the proceeds from the poultry and economic trees  would have been useful. The hope was that in the next 3 years the farm will be a profitable venture, and we (his family) will all be involved in running the farm. But what has happened has drawn us back several centuries. I cannot abandon the path, tragic as it is. We are starting afresh. It takes an average of 3 years to produce a mature cow.’ Restocking is the next big project at his farm right now. His words ‘We have to continue to restock. I have to put all my resources into restocking.’ He says that the theft at his farm has ‘put his whole retirement plan into jeopardy.’ Inspite of all that has happened, he is keen on restocking and seeing the farm  bounce back to life. This would  have the uplifting effect of putting  his well thought out   retirement plans  back on track.
When there are no cows
This is the story of a young man who wants to go to university, but when rustlers visited and stole his father’s cows, he’s no longer sure of fulfilling his dream of becoming a Political Scientist .The rustlers came at that hour when sleep is sweetest, and stole 33 cows, leaving Abdullahi Magaji, a sick  and bitter man .They almost took away a young girl who was to be married within a week of the attack, but for the pleas of Rukayat Magaji, her mother. The  settlement itself  shares a fence with the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja. When Weekly Trust visited, Abdullahi Magaji, dressed in a brown kaftan, was lying very still on a bench. His wife  who sat on a stool near him, wore bright colours. He was ill and spoke in a whisper, but the wife who was silent, did not want to speak on what had happened, but she was not turning away the guest either. Her finger  indicated a bench. She just wanted to be quiet. Musa, their young son, amplified his father’s voice, and served as interpreter.
Then there was a moment of silence. From the settlement  we could hear a plane moving along the runway. Suddenly, the huge   form  rose into the  air, the  sound of its engines ,almost mocking the empty  household  beneath. The father recalls that evening’ ‘I was in my hut when suddenly someone drew closer and said ‘Assalam Alaikum’. I answered ‘Alaikum Salam’. Then they produced guns, declared ‘Kwanan ka ya kare’(Your days are numbered) and swiftly asked me to release all my cattle, which I did. They wanted to take my young daughter who was to be married a week from that time. My wife pleaded with them. Then  surprisingly, they released her.’ He says that he  did not report to the police when the cows were stolen. Musa  mentions that he has passed his SSCE, but he wants to study Political Science, and  that with the theft of the cows, his education is now put on hold. He explains ‘My secondary education was funded with monies from the sale of cows. Now, we don’t have cows anymore, so I wonder whether I can go on to study Political Science at the university.’ He looks at me, and I look back at him. His father  lies on the bench and sighs again. His mother lifts her eyes  towards the skies  as though in prayer. Then another plane taxis down the runway and makes to take off.