Taraba L-PRES Moves To Tackle Herders-Farmers Conflicts
..Visits Gomu, Fulani Community in Karim Lamido
By Artimas Ezra, Jalingo.
The Taraba State Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support Project (L-PRES), Committee on herder-farmer conflict, has visited Gomu and Fulani Communities in Karim Lamido Local Government Area of Taraba State, to access the level of damages caused by the recent herder- farmer conflict, that rocked the Area.
The PIU Members, who were led in the visit, by the L-PRES Social Safeguard Officer, Taraba State, Mrs. Fillah Bodi Simon, on behalf of the State Project Coordinator, Mr. Hananiah G. Albert, arrived Karim Lamido on Tuesday, two weeks after the conflict.
The PIU visit was in line with the Project Objectives, as captured in component three(3) of the Project Implementation Manual, tagged: ‘Crisis Prevention and Conflict Mitigation’.
The PIU Members visit, was aimed at mitigating and managing the causes and consequences of the violent conflict, instability and extremism, by engaging all the parties involved.
On arrival at Karim Lamido, the Committee paid a courtesy call on the Chief of Wurkun, Alh. Yakubu Abubakar Kirim, to intimate him of the reason for the visit.
The Wurkun paramount Ruler, lauded the timely intervention of the World Bank Project, through the L-PRES, noting that, it was the first time that such a quick intervention had been taken by any Organisation to reduce tension in a crisis ridden Community.
The Chief of Wurkun, who revealed that both his first and second degree is in peace and conflict studies, lauded the L-PRES Project swift response to the conflict, and called on the warring communities in his domain to sheath sword and embrace peace, adding that no meaningful development can be achieved in an atmosphere of rancour and animosity.
The PIU Members thereafter, headed to the scene of the crisis in Wanzami Gomu, where they engaged the Gomu Community leaders in a fruitful discussion after ascertaining the level of destruction caused as a result of the conflict.
The team leader, Mrs. Fillah Bodi, while addressing the Gomu leaders, harps on the need to coexist peacefully among themselves.
She said, conflict is inevitable as far as living together is concerned; but added that when it occurred, people must always find an amicable way of resolving it without taking the laws into their hands which may eventually lead to the loss of lives and property.
Speaking on behalf of the Gomu Community, the Secretary to Gomu District, Mr. Gideon Jonah, said the problem started on Sunday, 15th, Sept.2024, when their late village head, Abednadab Wakili went to his farm on a tipoff that cattle were causing destruction there, regretting that it was a journey that he never returned.
He explained that, their youths had to trace him to his farm at night when he could not return home, only to discover his dead body with deep cuts all over.
He revealed that, the killing of the Chief who left behind two wives and 16 children, provoked the youths who went berserk and attacked the Fulani settlements all in a bid to avenge the death of the late Village Head.
Mr. Gideon said, they lost only the village head, in addition to crops and farmlands that were destroyed by cattle and that many houses were also touched and property carted away.
He lamented that, they were living in peace with their fulani neighbours for close to a hundred years without any problem until now.
He stressed that the indigenous herders are peace-loving people except for the killer herdsmen that infiltrated their community and called on the indigenous herders to return homes even as he appealed for assistance from the government, NGOs and spirited individuals to ameliorate their hardship.
No single Fulani was found in Gomu Community as of the time of the visit as they were said to be taking refuge at Karim Lamido, the administrative headquarters of the Council Area, for fear of being attacked.
The PIU had to trace them to their place of refuge, where they engaged their leaders in a discussion with a view to hear their own version of the story as well as ascertain the level of damages incurred as a result of the conflict.
Speaking on behalf of the Fulani, the Secretary to Ardo Fulani, Karim Lamido, Suleiman Sarki Umar, said the trouble started on 15th of September, 2024, at about 5:00:pm or thereabout, when the late village Head, Mr. Abednadab wakili met two herders grazing close to his farm and ordered them to leave the Area.
According to him, When they were about to leave, the late village head, gashed one of the herders, so in a swift reaction the village head had one of his hands chopped off by one of the herders and he bled to death as a result of the cut.
He explained that, those cattle rearers reported the matter to their father who in-turn informed the National President of Tabita Fulaku Jonde Jam, foundation, Ardo Jarenga Galdu, who ordered the father of those two boys to bring them and were immediately handed over to the Police.
He said, after handing over those boys to the police, the security immediately went to the scene of the incident and carried the deceased’s dead body.
He further explained that the Ardo Fulani also notified the elders of Gomu Community on phone of the unfortunate incident and the measures taken, advising them to caution their Youths against retaliation since they had already handed over the culprits to the police for necessary action.
He lamented that despite the measures taken and their advice to the Gomu leaders, their youths swung into action by attacking the herders and killing their animals and carting away large numbers of their cattle into the mountain areas.
According to him, they lost two persons and three others were missing and appealed for assistance to cushion their hardship.
In their separate remarks, the National President, Tabita Fulaku Jonde Jam, foundation, Ardo Jarenga Galdu, Ardo Karim Lamido, Alh. Baleri Gallarah; Chairman Miyetti Allah, Karim Lamido; Alhaji Kabele, and Ardo Wazamin Gomu, Alhaji Haruna, blamed the situation on how the grazing reserves and cattle routes had been taken over by farmers all over the country, leaving the herders with nothing to graze on .
They lamented that there is no way the herders and farmers would live together in peace and unity as long as farmers kept encroaching into the known grazing reserves areas without recourse to the plights of the herders and their cattle.
The Fulani leaders, appealed to the Taraba State government and the World Bank , through the L-PRES Project, to wade into the matter by demarcating the historical cattle routes, even as they call on their people in the Area to remain calm since the state government has earlier summoned all the stakeholders of the two communities to the state headquarters to broker peace.
