Hombugo: New template to revive Fulani value system, stop rustling

In the last few years, Fulani communities across the country have witnessed sustained and coordinated attacks; first on their cattle, this  now includes kidnapping for ransom and rape. Unfortunately, some of the perpetrators of these heinous acts are said to be aggrieved Fulani young men, whose animals were rustled and family life distorted. They are […]

In the last few years, Fulani communities across the country have witnessed sustained and coordinated attacks; first on their cattle, this  now includes kidnapping for ransom and rape.
Unfortunately, some of the perpetrators of these heinous acts are said to be aggrieved Fulani young men, whose animals were rustled and family life distorted.
They are young men who were raised in the better days of the strict Fulani value system, but found themselves in the bitter days of cattle rustling that is  currently crippling their age-old  traditional profession of breeding livestock.
These men were cajoled by forces of anger and bitterness caused by the loss of their cows to rustling, to put aside, the Fulani traditional moral values that have distinguished them for ages, and join the train of the criminal elements terrorizing Fulani communities across the country and destroying their wealth.
This bloody activity has left many Fulani families broken and  in pains . Affected young men now have to  also engage in rustling, robbery or even consuming  alcohol, while some of the women whose husbands were killed and animals rustled, doing the unthinkable which is hardly heard of in Fulani society.   
This reporter traveled to some Fulani communities in Kaduna, Bauchi, Plateau, and Nasarawa states to see how they are struggling to survive as their profession, endangered by cattle rustling, is leading to a huge breakdown in their traditional value system.
In Kaduna, Fulani in some parts of the state have had terrifying experiences in the hands of rustlers. Some of the rustlers, who are also Fulani, made Birnin Gwari, which has a long stretch of thick forests, a safe haven and hideout.   
For instance, Yusufu Ahmadu, whose entire family was thrown into  disarray  at the Bagadi Village in Kudan LGA of the state, has just four cows left. The rest is now history.
 His father, Alhaji Ahmadu, who is   91 years, fainted many timeswhen the news got to him that all his cattle, which he raised in the last 60 years, were stolen  in the  twinkle of an eye.
Yusufu told Daily Trust on Sunday the tale of how, in search of his cattle, he stumbled on the criminal elements in Birnin  Gwari, the “headquarters of rustlers.” As he was narrating his traumatic story, the expression in his face changed- this is a man who probably has seen the worst side of crime.
“When I got there,” he said, “I saw about 20 women who were kidnapped from various places and taken to the forest. Many of them were taken from far places. The rustlers told me not to search for my cattle again, instead they said that I should take the gun they offered me and join them in the business. But I resisted.”
Asked who he thinks the rustlers were, Yusufu responded thus: “the ones I met in that forest are Fulani.”
According to him, the women he saw in the hands of the rustlers are very beautiful women, some of them apparently are married ,adding that they use them both for ransom, and to meet their sexual desires in that forest. “I was lucky they met me alone, my wife would have been  a victim,” he noted.
Daily Trust on Sunday spoke with Buhari Abubakar, the Sarkin Fulani of Rugan Fulani, Zaria on the many issues threatening the Fulani value system. He opines that bad association with criminals in the society is altering the values they have inculcated in their children; the result of which created the social vices happening in their communities across the country.
“A young Fulani lady was kidnapped by these criminals. They returned her heavily pregnant,” he said in a low voice.
Like the 91-year-old Mallam Ahmadu in Bagadi Village, Mallam Abubakar wants the new government to develop a new security template to deal with the emerging issues confronting the nomadic herdsmen across the nation.
Although there are few cases of rustling in Zaria, criminals from Birnin  Gwari and other places in Kaduna, converge at  Tashan Yawo (a village along the Zaria-Kano express way) to  indulge in activities such as drinking, prostituting and taking of hard drugs.
The reports of their activities drew the attention of the Nasir el-Rufai’s government and they have now been dislodged, while the joint team of security forces continued to engage the rustlers in the Birnin Gwari forest.
At Tilden Fulani, a large town in Toro area of Bauchi State, the reporter’s conversations with some Fulani leaders revealed the current challenges confronting the Fulani nation.
Hashimu Abubakar, is the Bauchi State Chairman of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, another group of herders. He lamented that the recent upsurge in violence against the Fulani has subjected them to resort to doing things that are completely alien to their cultural values.
“It is very difficult to tell you if most of the rustling activities in Bauchi are done by the Fulani themselves. I have many reports of not just rustling incidents but also the kidnapping of women, including young girls,” he argued.
But the Kautal Hore boss agreed that some of the women whose husbands are killed and young ladies who lost their parents have to survive,  and that means doing everything to live, adding that some people would definitely take advantage of their situation to lure them into doing what is wrong.    
Chairman, Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders  Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) in Toro Local Government, Musa Gaya Abubakar , attributed the breakdown in the Fulani value system to a quest for quick riches among the younger generation.
“When these children go out and see their mates  spending money, buying things that attract their attention, it becomes so easy for them to engage in criminal activities such as robbery and rustling, in order to get money to buy the glowing items  they saw with their friends. They don’t even listen to us, the parents, again,” he worried.
Also, Mairo Junaidu, who is in her fifties, pointed out that the inability of some of the parents to control their daughters, is because their means of livelihood such as the milk from the cows, which allows the mothers to engage the growing girls, is no longer there.
“So what would they now do?” she asked.
According to her, the Fulani women in most communities no longer move along with their men in search for pasture again, because of incessant cases of kidnapping and rape in the bush.
“Even those of us who are old, and are  supposed to be their mothers, the rustlers won’t mind to rape us. This is shameful,” she stresses.
 To Mairo, the current situation if not  tackled  urgently, “we the Fulani will lose  all the good values passed  on to us by our grandparents , and those of us who are old will be ashamed of our children.”
Hassan Abubakar  the Maigundama (Village Head) Tilden Fulani noted that the time has come for all Fulani leaders wherever they are to come together to stem this situation, before it gets out of hand.
While the Fulani might be a little bit safe in Bauchi State, the neighbouring Plateau State is one of the most unsafe areas for the Fulani.
For those Fulani that have lived all their lives in Plateau State, where to head to is now a huge problem.
Torn by ruthless killings, the crises in Plateau has affected every facet of Fulani life. Many of them have now moved their wives and daughters to safer locations, while they navigate other safe axis. The implication is that these women who are used to milking the cow and selling the milk, no longer have access to the livestock.
Their daughters, who in most cases are not educated, are easily attracted to social vices hardly found in Fulani communities.
Daily Trust on Sunday spoke to a number of Fulani youths in Jos and Wase LGAs. Many of them believed that driving them away from the bushes to the cities, is bringing them too close to things that attract  their attention.
 Umaru Shuaibu confessed that he recently  drank a bottle of beer in the Rayfield area of Jos. He said he saw people drinking it and so wanted to taste it.
A group of young herdsmen in a grazing field, in a chat, pointed out that some parts of Plateau are death -traps for the Fulani ,adding that whether you have cattle or not, someone is always ready to kill you.
“You cannot afford to dress like a Fulani whenever you are crossing those areas, especially in Riyom and Barkin-Ladi LG areas, even if you are just passing to other towns,” Adamu Mohammadu noted.
During a visit to some Fulani settlements, it was discovered that women were completely absent, while only men and young kids who can control the animals were seen around.
Mohammed Badejo and Musa Usman are in their late thirties. They have lost about 60 cows in the state. This reporter caught up with them in one of their settlements along the Jos-Lafia road.
“My wife and children are in Dass in Bauchi State. I cannot afford to move with these animals along with them. I have to do so because of their safety, although I grew up here in Plateau. The situation has made it extremely difficult to stay with our wives these days,” Usman stated. 
In an interview in Magama, Alhaji Haruna Boro Husseini, the Plateau State Chairman of MACBAN, acknowledged that a lot of problems now confront the Fulani in the state.
 Alhaji Boro emphasized that the crises in Plateau has produced a lot of orphans and thousands of animals lost.
“We have a lot of youths whose parents and/or animals are killed, for these ones, their lives have been distorted and they don’t have anything else to fall back on . Certainly, some of these people will get involved in things they shouldn’t engage in,” he opines.
He called on the federal government to consider an aid package for those Fulani who have  lost their means of livelihood, as the government does for  the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), so that they will be able to rebuild their lives again.
“If this is not done,” he argues, “many of them will indulge in evil vices.”
What Alhaji Boro Husseini noted in Plateau is already happening in the neighbouring Nasarawa State. Daily Trust on Sunday came across a group of young Fulani men drinking the  indigenous wine called “Brukutu” in a place called “Border” at the outskirts of a  market in Nasarawa-Eggon. A chat with them revealed that they are people who have lost their cattle to the crises in Benue and Nasarawa states .
Nasarawa State has seen one of the deadliest ethnic conflicts in recent history. The Fulani cattle herders were also at the centre of these conflicts involving Tiv and Agatu communities both in Nasarawa and Benue, and the Eggon communities in Nasarawa State.
These conflicts have seen colossal killings  between the warring communities. Thousands of lives and animals were lost  on both sides of the conflict. Many lost their means of livelihood-a situation that may change them forever.
Today, cases of kidnappings for ransom, drinking alcohol, drugs and even HIV infection are rising among the Fulani in the state.
Some maidens in a chat with this reporter, however, see their generations as different from their parents’, adding that those who wanted to acquire new technologies like the mobile phone can do anything to get it.
Alhaji Mohammed Husseini is the State Secretary MACBAN. In an interview with this  reporter, he captures the situation thus: “In these crises we have lost over 20,000 cows in Nasarawa State, by the record we have. We also lost more than 500 Fulani men and women in Nasarawa. So you see this situation caused a lot of problems to the Fulani community. Some of the herders don’t have anything doing, they are not learned, and they don’t have any certificate to present to be employed by the government because over 90 percent of them are illiterates. Right now, the only work a Fulani man will do is Maigadi (security guard). How much is Maigadi paid – N10, 000 or less than N7, 000 a month, as the case may be in some places.”
Husseini lamented that “many of our people here only concentrate on their cattle rearing. When they lost their cattle, our youths soon go about drinking, taking these dangerous tablets and hard drugs such as Indian hemp , Tramol, and alcohol among other substances which damage their brains. They go about joining gangs.  That is why we have more criminals in the state. Some join cattle rustling, some join armed robbery, some go into kidnapping, which in the past never existed.”
To contain these worrisome trends in the state, the Fulani have revived and instituted Hombugo, a traditional method which they forgot for the past 50 years .
Describing Hombugo, he said, “When you say today we will Hombied a town in Fulfulde, no Fulani man will enter that town; no Fulani woman will enter such place to sell nono (fresh milk), no Fulani man will sell cow to that place, and no meat will be slaughtered there. In the whole of that town automatically no form of sales or activities will be allowed to take place there.”
To adopt the system, a general meeting of Fulani elders in every local government area was called ,where kola nuts were shared to pronounce Hombugo.
“The day we started this thing many were arrested. They thought it was all a joke. The following day some people went for robbery, they were arrested, the next day some went for kidnapping they were arrested – about 12 of them. So they became scared, which led to over 22 of them renouncing their activities. At present, we have over 50 individuals who have come out to renounce one act or the other that had unsettled the community as a whole and repented from their crimes in Nasarawa State through this Hombugo,” Hussein said.
To curb rising cases of HIV, no Fulani lady will be allowed to move around the town with nono; instead they will be allowed to stay in groups in a defined location in each town. They have also set  a mechanism to deal with those taking  alcohol and drugs.
Apparently happy with the result so far, the secretary said other states are consulting Nasarawa to introduce same in their effort to revive their dying values due  rustling. For many stakeholders, the problems militating against the Fulani are  not just a national problem, but a regional issue that needs national and regional solutions.