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By Young E. Freeborn, Warri
As the farming season sets in after the yuletide celebrations, herdsmen, alleged to be Fulani, have again invaded Uwheru communities of Ohoror, Agadama, Avwon and others with cows “numbering over ten thousand.”
Reports from farmers in these communities indicate that, the Fulani herdsmen were heavily armed with ammunition, threatening them to either quit their farmlands or die.
Speaking to our correspondent during a recent visit to Ohoror community, a male farmer who didn’t want his name in print said, “The suffering has started again in our communities. The Fulani herdsmen with their cows entered our farmlands few days ago.
“Yesterday I took some of my boys to work for me in my farm. Getting to the farm, we saw these Fulani herdsmen with their cows ravaging some of the farms that have already been planted. I went to them, but before I could say one or two words, they threatened me and my boys to leave the farmlands immediately if we want to be alive. We couldn’t do anything again because they were heavily armed with different ammunition and ready to do anything this time around. I told my boys to go back home without challenging them.”
In the same vein, a youth leader from Agadama community said, “All I know as a leader is that, nobody sold us and our lands to these Fulani herdsmen. Now that they have taken over all our farmlands, many of the youths who are venturing into farming and also our parents whose means of livelihood is farming would be forced to stay at home all through this farming season.
“This will definitely increase the economic crisis we have been passing through at the moment. We don’t want to fight with the Fulani herdsmen, therefore we are calling on the Delta State government to come and eject them from our farms to enable us go into our farming activities peacefully. Time is not on our side, the government should rise up now to calm the situation to avoid the breakdown of law and order in our community.”
A member of Oborifori Forum (a social group bringing Uwheru indigenes together) who also spoke on the conditions of anonymity said, “Uwheru leaders shouldn’t fold their hands again over this continuous attacks by these ravaging Fulani herdsmen. Enough is enough of these every year attacks on our old fathers and mothers. Many of our women have been sexually harassed by these Fulani herdsmen and also killed many of our youths. I think, this is the right time to fight this battle in the legal process. Secondly, our leaders should stop having friendship with these Fulani herdsmen because of personal interest. None of them should involve in selling or leasing any part of our land to them for any purpose, whether for grazing or building of tents. Our leaders shouldn’t do things that would soil their hands and seal their mouths on this critical issue.”
Efforts to speak to the president-general of Uwheru kingdom, Chief Hon. Macpherson Igbedi, proved abortive as his phone lines were not reachable as at the time of filing this report.
