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By Young Erhiurhoro, Warri
Alleged Fulani herdsmen, presently ravaging farmers and communities in Nigeria, have reportedly resumed their attacks on the farmers and people of Agadama and Ohoror communities in Uwheru kingdom, Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta State.
The attacks on the people of these communities by the alleged Fulani herdsmen, which many residents described as yearly and seasonal, especially during farming seasons, have reportedly claimed several lives and inflicted huge financial losses on farmers in the affected communities.
Speaking to our correspondent during a recent visit to Agadama community, a farmer who sought anonymity blamed the Federal Government for shielding the alleged Fulani herdsmen “in perpetuating evil against the helpless and armless people of the Niger-Delta region.
“As you can see, farming is our major occupation here. It’s our means of livelihood. Many of us are into subsistence agriculture and majorly into crop and fish production. Today, all of us are helpless at home. We dare not step into our own farms because of the different atrocities of these Fulani herdsmen against us. Now, they have driven us from our farms and have already taken over everywhere.
“Even, we are not safe here too. We sleep with one eye opened. It has become yearly attacks on us. In my own case, I have lost huge sums of money. Many of us borrowed money from money lenders and banks to invest in these our farming business. At the end of the year, we have nothing good or success to show for the investments. Today, I have lost many of my landed properties because of debts and I can no longer cater for my family.”
The farmer however called on the Federal Government to withdraw the Fulani herdsmen from their communities to enable them go peacefully to their farms.
“The Federal Government is our major attacker in this struggle. The Fulani herdsmen are bold enough to carry out all their heinous crimes on us because the Federal Government is aiding and abetting them. The Federal Government is their shield. Without doubt, the sophisticated weapons that are readily available to these criminals of a people, I believe, are not available to our military and other security agencies in the country. If the Federal Government says we are citizens of Nigeria, it should remove them immediately from our farms and forests now.”
Also speaking in anonymity, a highly respected women leader in Ohoror community accused the community leaders of bribery and corruption on the issue of the Fulani herdsmen terrorising the entire Ohoror community and other communities in Uwheru kingdom.
Hear her: “I’m one of the women leaders in this community. We, the women of these communities and our children, the youths always bear the brunt at the end of the different attacks from the Fulani herdsmen.
“Since when these Fulani herdsmen activities began here, we have heard severally that they usually pay money as yearly ransom to some of our leaders to protect them and put them on their shoulders. Secondly, we also heard that some of the herds of cows of these Fulani herdsmen allegedly belong to some of our leaders here too. Not all of them belong to the Fulani people. Some are owned by our own leaders. They only employed the services of the Fulani herdsmen to take care of the cattle.
“If this information is true, then it means, we are the ones fighting our own selves in this case. In fact, those bad leaders shall be caught up by nemesis soon, except they truly repent of these evils. How can you cover up in the name and power of leadership to perpetuate evil against your own people you promised to lead a right? Those evil leaders in the entire Uwheru kingdom, collecting money from foreigners to kill the indigenes of the land won’t go free at the end. They will reap from the evil they have sown in the land.
“Thirdly, I will also accuse the Delta State government of having hand in this evil befalling us here. At least, we should emulate what is good. Let our governor rise up to this challenge by giving the Fulani herdsmen ultimatum as did by his counterparts, the governors of Ondo and Osun states, if truly Uwheru people are dear to Governor (Ifeanyi) Okowa and his government. Without wasting time again, we the women of Uwheru kingdom beg Governor Okowa to tell these Fulani herdsmen to pack from our farms and forests. We don’t want to lose any of our children and husbands this year again like other past years.”
The women leader however solicited that the Delta State government, through the ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, should give them (the rural farmers) support in terms of agricultural aids and loans “to keep them alive” in their farming activities and to also boost the food production of the state.
Our correspondent reports that efforts to reach the chairmen of the two communities and the president-general of Uwheru kingdom, Chief Cassidy Akpedafe, for their views on the issue of herdsmen and farmers proved abortive as at the time of filing this report.
Uwheru kingdom is considered by some to be the food basket of Delta State as it is naturally endowed in the production of groundnuts, yam, sweet potatoes, peppers, cassava, plantains, timber and the production and harvesting of fishes from communal rivers and personal fishing ponds.
