THE primordial crises between the herdsmen and their Ondo State hosts predated the days of yore, but became more pronounced when the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation and Afenifere chieftain, Chief Olu Falae was kidnapped on his 77th birthday on September 21, 2015, demanding 100 million Naira ransom.

The state which was created in 1976 and geographically lies entirely in the tropical belt, is bounded in the south by the Atlantic Ocean, in the east by Edo State, west by Ogun and Oyo states and the north by Ekiti and Kogi states that serve as entry ports from the northern part of the country.

This rich natural endowment leads to the influx of the nomadic herdsmen from the northern part of the country to the luxuriant vegetation with high forest zone in the south and annual rainfall of about 2, 000mm and the sub-Savannah forest in the northern fringe with 1, 150mm yearly rainfall.

Several prominent rivers, lakes, and creeks like Awara, Oni and Ose in the north; Owena, Ogbese and Ala in the central; and Oluwa, Yeghwa and Alape in the southern districts of the state attract cattle rustlers from the upper Niger and lower Benue.

Aside encroachment on farmlands and wanton destruction of farm produce, the people of Ondo State lamented other social hazards caused by the unguided rustling of their hosts, among which are traffic gridlock and automobile accidents on the highways.

Onuwaje Eniola an indigene of Ugbonla, in Ilaje Local Government Area, repeatedly complained about the excesses of the herdsmen who often become hostile to their hosts whenever they try to stop them from littering their compound and vicinity with cow dung, even in the metropolitan cities.

For the record, a herd of cows strayed across the expressway, somewhere around Sebi Petrol station in Akure on February 5, 2015, where a luxury bus heading to Lagos from Abuja unavoidably rammed into the herd and killed 11 cows, but narrowly escaped human fatality.

In a not too fortunate circumstance along Owo Expressway some years ago, about 10 NYSC members, who were returning home after the one year compulsory service to fatherland, lost their lives in a ghastly auto-crash caused by unguided cattle rustling.

Same week after Chief Olu Falae’s kidnap, another septuagenarian in Akoko North East LGA, Pastor Japhet Obafemi was kidnapped along Auga-Akunnu Road at the border of Kogi State around 5.05pm, with a ransom bargained down to N3 million from the initial N16 million.

Akure Youth Coalition (AYC), a national and socio-political movement of the Akure speaking people in four council areas of the state protested the series of abductions, especially that of their leader and former Minister of Finance, Olu Falae, reproving the activities of the herdsmen in the city.

The President of AYC, Adekanbi Oluwatuyi said the herdsmen “had continued to harass and intimidate our people with their cattle forcibly entering into farmlands.

“We are not mindful of the fact that any Nigerian is guaranteed the freedom to live in any part of the country as enshrined in Section 41 (1) of the 1999 Constitution as amended,” Oluwatuyi noted, saying Akure youths “are however quick to state that this does not confer on them the right to intimidate and violate the right of their host communities.”

The Guardian gathered that the incessant kidnapping of people in Ondo State by the herdsmen has further worsened the relationship between them and their hosts.

Shortly after the Falae incident, the leader of the Fulanis who reside in Sango Cattle Settlement in Akure, Bidemi Abdusalam had condemned the excesses of the herdsmen.

He claimed that the Fulanis are peaceful people who have mutual relationship with their hosts, however, highlighting the difference between them, whom he said are the sedentary town dwellers and the cattle rearers, who are known as the itinerary, nomadic or “Fulani Bororos.”

Some of the Fulanis and Hausas who spoke with The Guardian said that it is the core implementation of the grazing routes that can solve the social problem. They look forward to the immediate implementation and other initiatives by the state government, as promised.

Some days ago, the state government warned all herdsmen across the state to desist from encroaching government farm centres, especially the Ore Agro Business City or face prosecution.

The chairman of the State Wealth Creation Agency (WECA), Mrs Olafunmiloye Bolanle gave the warning in Ore, Odigbo Local Government Area of the state during a meeting with the leaders of the herdsmen at the farm town hall.
She stated that the herdsmen invasion of farms has caused large-scale destructions to crops and other recreational facilities, despite several meetings held with them on the issue.

She noted that the Ore Agro Business City is one of the largest among other farm cities established across the state by the Gov. Olusegun Mimiko-led administration.

The Ondo State Chairman, Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), Alhaji Bello Garuba said he would soon call a meeting of members of his association.
He promised to inform the members on the agreement reached and prevail on them to desist from grazing on government and individual farms.

Garuba, however, suggested that two of the association’s members should be involved in the monitoring of the herdsmen round the Agro Business City and other parts of the state.