Nigerians fleeing the country as the situation becomes impossible
Updated: Aug 12
Hundreds of Nigerians are fleeing over the border into Cameroon taking with them their huge economic contribution to the Nigerian economy. The reasons they cite include insurgency, insecurity, banditry. On top of that they say their children are being killed and the ethnic profiling against them has become so bad that normal working life and normal living has become impossible. They are leaving for other countries such as Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Central African nations in the hope of a stable environment where they can live and work in peace.
Nigeria is home to around 20 million people from the Fulani ethnic group. Traditionally nomadic cattle herders, the Fulani people continue to make huge contributions to the local economy and diet in the form of protein (meat, milk, yoghurt and cheese), items for traditional ceremonies and music (leather, cow tails, cow horns) as well as paying cattle and abattoir taxes. Their value was recognised and protected in the 1960’s by the post-colonial government who mapped the traditional routes that the herds took in order to protect them from encroachment so that the Fulani people and their animals could move easily around the country. The people of Nigeria depended on this seasonal migration for organic fertiliser for their crops and protein products for their diet.
Sadly, with the huge explosion in population since that time and a lack of intervention, these cattle routes have not been protected as promised, leaving cattle herders with nowhere to go. Increasing farm sizes, widespread use of chemical fertiliser and herbicides as well as new roads and towns on their routes means Fulani people and their animals are diverted off these safe paths and into agricultural and residential areas, leading to tension and stress for everyone involved.
The Fulani people are for the most part a peace-loving ethnic group who have lived and worked hand in hand with settled farmers for millennia in an ancient symbiotic relationship. They are as frustrated as everyone with the small number who have turned to violence as they vent their frustrations, giving a bad name to the whole ethnic group who all suffer because of the evil actions of a few. Western media loves to report these attacks without telling the full story which includes the millions of peace loving Fulani people, the cycle of attacks on them and the huge losses of life, livestock and property that affect them constantly. This unbalanced reporting has led to a situation whereby the word “Fulani” has become so associated with violence that many outside Nigeria presume that the Fulani are a militant group like Boko Haram, rather than an ethnic group of 20 million men, women and children trying to get on with their daily lives.
It has become so bad that even people who look like they are Fulani are not safe as people jump to negative conclusions, as the recent murder of Abdullahi Bello demonstrated – a young man who was beaten to death by a mob who thought he was from the Fulani ethnic group – he was not. Too many Fulani people and those who look like them have suffered from “kill first, ask questions later” attacks.
As well as the constant battle of how to move their cows safely from place to place when their legal routes are often blocked off, they face harsh confrontations with farmers who are (rightly) upset when cows sometimes encroach on their farm. Traditionally these disputes would have been resolved respectfully by the elders (How Peacebuilding Worked in Jos | Whole Truth Nigeria) but now violence is often the first response.
The Fulani people and their animals are also vulnerable to attack from bandits who operate relatively unchecked in the far north of the country and have caused massive losses due to cattle rustling as well as loss of life. So, as the daily stresses of doing life have just become intolerable for them, many Fulani people are leaving Nigeria for greener pastures elsewhere.
The lack of security, justice and protection for all people in Nigeria is having serious consequences that continue to damage the country. As well as the loss of meat and milk products with the departure of many Fulani people, the Nigerian economy is in for a serious decline due to the loss of taxes, the loss of business and the loss of international trade of leather. International hides and skin dealer Muhammad Mele said he used to source 50% of his leather in Nigeria but now that business has gone with the Fulani people and their animals to other countries where they have settled.
In the light of this tragic situation, what can the world do, what can Nigeria do? For a start, the media needs to begin reporting balanced stories that represent all sectors of society, all religions and all people groups, to give a true and accurate representation of what is happening in Nigeria because policies are being made and lives are being affected by these unbalanced stories and incomplete narratives. The mass exodus of vast numbers of Fulani people and cattle should alert the world that all is not as it is being portrayed in the media if the ones who are running from insecurity are the Fulani people that the media is accusing of causing the insecurity.
The mass exodus of vast numbers of Fulani people and cattle should alert the world that all is not as it is being portrayed in the media if the ones who are running from insecurity are the Fulani people that the media is accusing of causing the insecurity.
The security situation in Nigeria needs massive support and improvement to bring banditry, kidnapping and shootings under control so that all people from all ethnic groups and ways of life can live in peace.
Also, those courageous leaders who are working for peacebuilding for all people need all the support and encouragement we can give. It is their efforts for peace and inter-ethnic mediation that offer real solutions to this crisis.
For more suggestions on pathways to sustainable peace for all people, see wholetruthnigeria.net/paths-towards-peace
Sources include:
-WTN sources
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