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Friday 22 April 2016
Thursday 14 April 2016
The Plight of the Folks of Agogo.
There is a town in situated in the Ashanti region of Ghana called Agogo and it seems the folks there have had about enough of the nomadic cattle herdsmen who have been coming to those parts as far back as anyone can remember. The Fulani are nomadic people who from time in memorial have travelled across West Africa with their herds of cattle seeking food for their animals. In the past they would go on their way quietly and there were no incidence of scuffles etc. Since 2000 it seems they have become wayward and have started carrying arms and have been known to shoot those who questioned the routes they were taking as that involved trampling over farm land, thus causing the damage of crops meant for harvesting, raping the womenfolk and generally causing mayhem and destruction in their wake.
There have been clashes with the police and military and now the herdsmen have been warned to ensure they either follow the rules regarding staying away from farmlands or they will suffer the consequences.
It seems like this chaos has not been only happening in Ghana but in Nigeria too, across Benue State and in Southern Taraba where even a curfew was put in place to prevent the herdsmen from moving around.
What I would like to know is why have these herdsmen been allowed to continue bringing their cattle after all these years. Surely we are not in the ancient times where tribes could just wander around with their herds looking for arable land? Why don't they rather invest in some land and have a cattle ranch instead? This problem is been discussed in both parliaments, that is in Ghana and Nigeria respectively. I know there is an ECOWAS protocol of free movement of people, goods etc. but this is ridiculous! Why should another tribe of people go into another country and cause so much trouble? Especially these days of terrorist attacks, we are all on high alert and if a group of people decide to cause damage to property etc. then they are going to have to face the rigours of the law. Another mind boggling fact is who are the owners of these cattle? Some say they are some powerful people with links to officials in high places, who go behind the backs of the security agencies and get the herdsmen to break the law with impunity.
My car was in the workshop for the usual monthly maintenance and I had to go to the eastern part of Accra, all the way to Tema, our harbour city. Lo and behold, there were 5 cows grazing in the middle of the roundabout which is just at the end of the Accra-Tema motorway. I gasped and asked the taxi driver if this was a daily occurrence as he is a regular user of that motorway. He replied in the affirmative and added that it even gets worse at night, especially if the cow is black in colour as you will not be able to see it in the night time. He had had 2 experiences he would never forget, the 1st time a car he had been following, drove into a black cow and the second, he just managed to swerve his car to avoid hitting a cow. Why cows are grazing in and around a busy motorway beats me and to add insult to injury, no-one seems to be doing anything about it, even though there have been numerous accidents on the motorway all because of these cattle.
I heard the Ashanti Regional Minister on radio saying the indigines of Agogo had to learn to live with the cattle and the Fulani herdsmen as this was nothing new for them. Pardon me but what sort of response is that? If animals are destroying farmland and their herdsmen are not controlling them, are the farmers going to sit down and watch with their arms folded? I think he needs to apologise and retract that statement as it is NOT a solution.
There have been clashes with the police and military and now the herdsmen have been warned to ensure they either follow the rules regarding staying away from farmlands or they will suffer the consequences.
It seems like this chaos has not been only happening in Ghana but in Nigeria too, across Benue State and in Southern Taraba where even a curfew was put in place to prevent the herdsmen from moving around.
What I would like to know is why have these herdsmen been allowed to continue bringing their cattle after all these years. Surely we are not in the ancient times where tribes could just wander around with their herds looking for arable land? Why don't they rather invest in some land and have a cattle ranch instead? This problem is been discussed in both parliaments, that is in Ghana and Nigeria respectively. I know there is an ECOWAS protocol of free movement of people, goods etc. but this is ridiculous! Why should another tribe of people go into another country and cause so much trouble? Especially these days of terrorist attacks, we are all on high alert and if a group of people decide to cause damage to property etc. then they are going to have to face the rigours of the law. Another mind boggling fact is who are the owners of these cattle? Some say they are some powerful people with links to officials in high places, who go behind the backs of the security agencies and get the herdsmen to break the law with impunity.
My car was in the workshop for the usual monthly maintenance and I had to go to the eastern part of Accra, all the way to Tema, our harbour city. Lo and behold, there were 5 cows grazing in the middle of the roundabout which is just at the end of the Accra-Tema motorway. I gasped and asked the taxi driver if this was a daily occurrence as he is a regular user of that motorway. He replied in the affirmative and added that it even gets worse at night, especially if the cow is black in colour as you will not be able to see it in the night time. He had had 2 experiences he would never forget, the 1st time a car he had been following, drove into a black cow and the second, he just managed to swerve his car to avoid hitting a cow. Why cows are grazing in and around a busy motorway beats me and to add insult to injury, no-one seems to be doing anything about it, even though there have been numerous accidents on the motorway all because of these cattle.
I heard the Ashanti Regional Minister on radio saying the indigines of Agogo had to learn to live with the cattle and the Fulani herdsmen as this was nothing new for them. Pardon me but what sort of response is that? If animals are destroying farmland and their herdsmen are not controlling them, are the farmers going to sit down and watch with their arms folded? I think he needs to apologise and retract that statement as it is NOT a solution.
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