I know I had known the ‘wara’ of the Fulani before meeting anyone of them. Wara is Yoruba for ‘nunu’ fresh milk made into cakes and sold by Fulani ladies. They hawked it everywhere, then.
I was later to know the refreshing ‘fura de nunu’, a mixture of millet and yoghurt. At a time, it was my best beverage after a hard day’s work, especially when refrigerated.
In actual fact, I can not remember when I met my first Fulani herdsman. However, I can remember that he was with a rod which he used to direct his herd.
In those days too, I used to spend my school holidays with my cousins. Their co-tenants were Hausa, but they lived so happily that a stranger may not be able to really know they are not from the same ethnic group.
I also used to know an Igbo man, who, during the civil war left his bakery business in the hands of a Yoruba man. At the end of the war, the man came back to take over his business as if nothing had happened.
I did my National Youth Service up north. My best friend was a Hausa guy that finished at ABU. We would escape from camp and embark on worldly pleasures.
It was in the course of this that I witnessed the fabled Hausa generosity for the first time. We were at the great Bala Miller’s hotel at Kabala Costain when an affluent Hausa man joined us.Before we could say Jack Robinson, he had ordered a carton of lager for each of us.
I never wanted to leave the north. I found the northerners a warm people. Indeed, when the service year ended, a friend and I tried to start a business in the north. We were going into waste disposal. However, one thing led to the other and the business failed to kick off.
Nigeria was in a state of stark innocence then!
It is therefore a surprise that some elements in the same north have been terrorising people in the south because of cattle. They go about fully armed with AK47 rifles in the name of protecting their animals. Do they carry rifles in the north too?
They rape helpless women. They gun down defenceless men. They help themselves to the farm products of those they have brutally killed in their primes. They render children fatherless and motherless.
However, the flotsam and jetsam who are the cattle herds are only being used. The cost of maintaining a herd of cattle is simply too enormous for any Tom, Dick and Harry to bear.
The real owners are globe trotting money bags in the north. They know how it is done overseas but they believe anything goes in Nigeria.
I am told a bill for grazing land was even tabled in one of the houses of the national assembly. I believe that move is hurtful to the sensibilities of all Nigerians.
Cattle rearing is simply a very good private business. Therefore, the owners of the cows should look for ways of taking care of their animals. How will they like it if, for example, piggery farmers suddenly wake up and ask government to look for ways of feeding their hogs?
By the way, must the south be always dependent on the north for meat? Why don’t we look into the development of ranches. A good example is the African bull that is common in Ogun West senatorial district. We,could look into that and tactically discourage the Fulani. It is even said that the average African bull has more meat than the average Fulani cow.
The cattle business is very lucrative. But whoever wants to go into it should understand that it is a private business.
As for those murderers, I believe they have been encouraged by the law enforcement agencies. For instance, are their guns licenced? There are enough laws to deal with the law breakers without waiting for a presidential order!!!
050716
