By SUNDAY ANI (nichsunny@yahoo.com)
Villagers of Ubima community, Gov Chibuike Amaechi’s
hometown, in Ikwerre local government area of River State, are at the verge of
going to war with the itinerant Fulani herdsmen. They are running out of
patience with the herdsmen who have vehemently refused all entreaties to give
peace a chance.
According to the villagers, the community’s trouble
started some three years ago when the herdsmen invaded their farmland with
their cattle. Their coming into the community’s farm had brought tears, bitterness,
untold hardship, sorrow, anguish and agony. They started with grazing in the
community’s farm, stealing animals caught by the traps laid by the village
hunters and gradually graduated to raping women who go to farm without men.
The farmland is made of various adjoining roads known
as farm roads, which belong to different families. Some of the farm roads
municipally known as “Uzor,” are: Uzor Akpohia, Uzor Omuogube, Uzor Umuacho,
Uzor Omuokunya, Uzor Omu-Oforu, Uzor Ahia, Uzor Mini and Uzor Ogbede among
others.
On May 15, Daily Sun published the story of how the
women of Ubima staged a peaceful protest to the Rivers State Government House
with the headline, “Women protest alleged rape by Fulani herdsmen.”
Speaking on the plight of the villagers, the leader of
Ubima Farmers’ Association, Mrs Gladys Amadi, who also led the women on protest
to government house, Port Harcourt, said that before the women went on the peaceful
protest, they had made several peace moves including writing a petition through
their lawyer, Odinaka O. Dimkpa. In the letter, they appealed for government
intervention to avert the impending bloodbath.
Speaking further, she said: “It was after we exhausted
all avenues to make peace and they refused that our men asked us to lead a
protest to the government house. Meanwhile, as we speak now, they have taken
over our farm. They build tents around the place as their living place. They
rape our women with reckless abandon; their cattle eat up our crops; they
destroy our ponds where fishermen catch fish; they chase our hunters away from
the forest. In fact, we are finished. Our means of livelihood is destroyed. We
can’t go to farm again because once they see you as a woman; they would rape
and thoroughly beat you.”
Investigation revealed that after the women had
protested to the government house, the state commissioner of police detailed
some policemen to go and ascertain the level of damage on the farm but when
they went there, the herdsmen opened fire on them. It was further learnt that
the policemen who were armed with AK 47 had to retreat when they discovered
that the herdsmen had superior firearms.
Insight findings also showed that after the women
protested to the government house, some powerful politicians in the community
warned them never to mention that they are being raped by the herdsmen as such
story is capable of tarnishing the good image of the community. And so, when
the victims of the Fulani herdsmen came out to narrate their ordeals, the women
who were raped were conspicuously missing, except two persons who narrowly
escaped being raped when the herdsmen attacked them.
Findings also showed that the youths of the community
are spoiling for war with the herdsmen if nothing is done to send the herdsmen
away from the people’s farm but elders of the community have been assuaging
their anger.
However, the villagers who spoke to our correspondent
shared their ordeals; poured out their hearts and appealed to the authorities
concerned to save the community from the impending famine and avoidable bloodshed.
Their stories:
Theresa Amadi
Madam Theresa Amadi saw the bitter side of the Fulani
herdsmen when on that fateful day, they met her and her daughter on their farm
and they wanted to rape her daughter but she escaped. They were furious that
Mrs Amadi allowed her daughter to escape after their manhood had stood on end
ready for action. Narrating the ugly incident, the mother of 12 said: “I went
to farm that day to harvest some crops for my own personal consumption when the
Fulani herdsmen appeared from nowhere. They attempted to catch my daughter but
she was very fast enough to have escaped from their grips on time. When they
could not get my daughter to rape her, they came back and descended heavily on
me; they beat me silly. They were about three and this happened in February. I
couldn’t get help from anybody because there was no one in sight. They left me
when they felt they were satisfied I had learnt my lesson not to allow my
daughter escape next time. I was very lucky they didn’t rape me. Some other
persons were not that lucky; they raped them but I was very lucky. I only
incurred their wrath when my daughter escaped and I couldn’t provide her for
them to rape. I later went to hospital where I spent over N12, 000 on
medication.”
Livi Dike
A hunter in the rubber estate forest, Mr Dike has also
had a raw deal with the herdsmen. Hear him: “That day they met me on the way
and asked me where I was going. I told them I was going to check on my trap and
they ordered me to go back. I turned back and never went back to that forest
again. I never checked on my trap again.
Secondly, they also attacked and destroyed my farm. I
cultivate cassava, cocoyam, pepper, maize, yam and vegetables. When I met them grazing
with their cattle in my farm, I begged them to leave but they threatened to
deal with me if I didn’t run away. I ran away and today I no longer go to my
farm again for fear of what they could do. They are very wicked and they could
kill at any time. This happened in April and since then, I have not been to my
farm again.”
Blessing Wali
For Mrs Wali, only God saved her from the herdsmen.
They did not only destroy her crops, they also damaged her bicycle, which
according to her helps her a great deal in moving around and going to farm.
Narrating her experiences, she said: “When I went to farm that very day, I saw
them and their cattle inside my farm; the cattle were eating up and destroying
my crop. I cried out but they used that their special stick to flog the dare
devil out of me for daring to shout. As some of them were beating me, one of
them took my bicycle and broke it into pieces. All my cries for help didn’t
yield anything because nobody was in sight to help me. Though, I still go
there, it is very dangerous because they could rape me as they have done to so
many women.”
Beatrice Amadigwe
For Mrs Amadigwe, a widow with 11 children, her major
problem now is how to pay back the N100, 000 loans she got from a friend. She
had invested the money in her farm with the hope that she would have a bumper
harvest from where she would raise the money and pay back in record time. But,
the invasion of her farm and consequent destruction of her crops by the Fulani
herdsmen and their cattle has compounded her travails. In a voice full of
lamentation, she said: “The men invaded my farm, destroyed my crops and beat me
up with the stick they use in herding their cattle. To my greatest surprise,
the next time I visited my farm; all the crops have been totally destroyed by
the Fulani and their cattle. Somebody gave me a loan of N100, 000 for farming.
Now, they have destroyed everything, where do I get the money to pay back? I
cultivate yam, cocoyam, cassava and vegetables. I can’t feed my children any
longer and that was why I cried out with other women which led to our protest
visit to the Government House. Since our protest to the government house,
nothing has been done. Now, what the herdsmen do is to lay ambush for us and
rape whoever that falls into their ambush. I have 11 children without a
husband. I find it difficult to feed my children now.”
Gladys Amadi
Madam Gladys is the leader of Ubima Farmers’
Association. She led the protest to the Rivers State government house. She is
deep in neck in the fight to see that the Fulani herdsmen leave the rubber
estate where the Ubima community have their farm. In her own narration, she
said: “Hausa cattle rearers with hundreds of cattle invaded our farms and
destroyed all our crops. The greatest problem I have is that my god-father gave
me N500, 000 and I shared the money N100, 000 each to four other women so that
after the harvest we could pay back. Now, the Fulani and their cattle have
destroyed everything, how do we get the money to pay back? Another thing that
worries us now is that unlike before the commissioner sent policemen to the
farm to assess the level of damage, what they do now is to lay ambush for our
women with their dogs and as soon as they see a woman, they would pounce on her
and rape her. They no longer come to our farm with their cattle since the
police intervention; they now hide along the farm roads waiting for women to
rape. Just three days ago, they almost succeeded in raping Mrs Didia but God
just rescued her. Although, they no longer come to our farm with their cattle,
it is too late because they have destroyed all our crops. Even at that, we
still cannot go to farm because of fear of being raped. The few women that
still manage to go to farm do so in company of their husbands. And farming is
the only occupation we know. It is the only source of income for us. Hunger is
looming in our land. We want the government to look into this matter urgently.
We don’t want them in our community again. They should leave our community at
once. That is what we are appealing to the state and federal government to do
for us otherwise; the youth will soon take laws into their hands.”
Beatrice Didia
Mrs Didia, a mother of seven, whose husband is still
alive could have made the infamous list of those raped by the Fulani herdsmen
but for her courage and God’s mercy, she escaped and could tell her story. She
was brought to this reporter by her husband who kept wondering what could have
happened if they had succeeded in raping his wife. In her own narration, the
lucky woman said: “That day, it rained heavily and I was at the farm. So, when
I wanted to go, I became afraid. And there was another woman with whom I went
to farm that day but she was working in her own farm. She came over to ask me
to wind up so we could go. I asked her to get prepared so we could go but
unknown to me, the Fulani man was trailing her. When he didn’t see her, he came
over to me and tried to rape me. He initially brought out a cutlass and
threatened to kill me if I shout but I pushed him and the cutlass fell off his
hand. Before he regained himself, I picked the cutlass and threw it inside the
bush. He grabbed me and wanted to tear my clothes but again I pushed him very
hard and he fell down and I took to my heels. As I was running, I was shouting
until I got to a point where I met a Calabar man who volunteered to go back to
my farm with me to see the Fulani man. When we got there, he had escaped and
when the Calabar man saw the effect of my struggle with him on the grasses
around the place, he concluded that the man did not only want to rape me but
also wanted to kill me. It was only God that saved me from him that day. When I
came back, I told my husband and other people what I experienced at the farm.
Before that incident, I have only heard of their evil activities but I have not
come in contact with them. Since that day, I have stopped going to farm. I have
seven children.”
Chinyere Amadi
Chinyere is a widow who lamented that at the end of
this academic session, she might not be able to pay for her children’s school
fees any longer as the Fulani herdsmen had destroyed all her crops with their
cattle. She is also one of the women who got N100, 000 loans and who is also
disturbed about how to repay. Lamenting the ugly trend, which according to her
is capable of locking the community with the herdsmen in bloody war, she said: “All
I know is that for the past three years, we have been suffering in the hands of
these Fulani herdsmen but the one of this year has become unbearable. They have
finished us. Their cattle have eaten up all our crops. Our efforts are wasted.
What sustains us is farming. We sell water leaf and get money to buy garri and
other food to eat. That is the only way we generate income to sustain life but
with what is happening now, many of us are in trouble. We can’t feed our
families any longer because our means of livelihood have been destroyed by the
Fulani herdsmen and their cattle.
At a point, one of us got N500, 000 from her
god-father and shared the money among five women including herself, with each
getting N100, 000. As it is now, we don’t know how we are going to pay back the
loan because our crops where we invested the money have been eaten up and
destroyed by the Fulani herdsmen and their cattle. I am a widow with eight
children.
Secondly, some of us who have the courage to go to
farm cannot do so without a man. So, now that I don’t have a husband, how do I go
to farm? I can’t go because I am afraid of the herdsmen who are not only
destroying our crops but also raping us. If they see you alone in the farm,
they would rape you and possibly beat you to death after raping you if God is
not on your side. And even if they didn’t kill you, you won’t be able to stand
after the rape if there is nobody to help you. So, that’s why we went to the
government house to let the governor know what we are going through. If the
governor can provide security for us in our farms, it will go a long way in
solving this problem and saving us from possible famine. Security personnel
should be able to monitor their movement and curtail their excesses and by so
doing, we will be able to go to farm and work with peace of mind instead of
working and fearing that somebody somewhere could emerge from nowhere to attack
and rape you.
The day I encountered them was the day they said they
were hunting. They were three and it was a man that rescued me that day. They
were beating me with their dogs and as I was shouting, a man heard my voice and
shouted, “Who is doing that?” Immediately they heard a man’s voice, they ran
away. Who knows, maybe they would have raped me like they have been doing to so
many other women but that man’s voice saved me. So, it’s only when a man
accompanies you that you can go to farm and be safe from them otherwise you
stand the risk of not only being raped but also losing your life thereafter. We
no longer go to farm. One of my children may have to drop out of school after
this term because I won’t be able to pay for his school fees next term. Farming
is our only means of income and survival. Without farming, there is no income
for us; without farming, there is no food for us; in fact, without farming,
there is no life for us. We cultivate cassava, maize, yam, cocoyam, okra,
pepper etc. So, that’s why we are calling on both the state and federal
government to come to our aid to avoid hunger and starvation and the possible
loss of lives and property in a seemingly communal clash that is looming large.”
Benedete Amadi
For Benedete Amadi, her husband was her saving grace.
As soon they saw her husband, they took off. She said: “I was working when they
invaded my farm with their dogs. When I saw them I shouted and my husband came
out and as soon as they saw my husband, they disappeared. So, if my husband was
not there, I wouldn’t know what could have happened; maybe I could have been
among the women they had raped since this ugly development started. But, thank
God my husband was there and they just disappeared at once.”
Mercy Amadi
A widow with five children, Madam Mercy was forlorn.
She was despondently gazing into the air with so many thought running through
her mind when this reporter accosted her. She faintly and soberly said: “They
attacked me where I was working in my farm. My offence was asking them to take
away their cattle. I am a widow with five children; they destroyed all my
crops. I am dying of hunger with my children. Government should help us.”
Victory Joseph
A primary five pupil, Victory escaped being raped by
whiskers. But, her mother got the beating of her life for helping her to
escape. The 12-year-old minor, who is the third in a family of five children,
narrates what happened to her and her mother to Insight. She said: “I was
with my mother when the man came to ask us for water. We told him we didn’t
have any water and he asked me to come; he was giving me eye signs which I
didn’t understand until he said he wanted to have sex with me. Before I knew
what was happening, he grabbed and tore my clothes including my pants to shreds
but I managed to escape unhurt because my mother intervened. I ran as fast as I
could, shouting for help because he was beating my mother mercilessly. As I
couldn’t get any help from anywhere, I ran home but just few seconds after I
got home, my mother also ran home. We left both the cassava we had harvested
and our cutlass, which the man later made away with.”
Corroborating Victory`s narration, her mother, Mrs
Rachael Joseph said: “As we were at the farm, he came and asked me to give him
my daughter to have sex with but I said no. When he grabbed my daughter, I
rushed him and when he faced me, my daughter escaped. As my daughter escaped,
he became furious and thoroughly beat me with that their special sticks. I had
a cutlass, so as I wanted to cut his hand with the cutlass, he ran away and
escaped into the bush. This happened in February.”
Elder John Didia
Elder Didia is a hunter and also a farmer and one of
the elders who insisted that this reporter must do his story in Ubima. He is
the man whose wife escaped being raped by whiskers. He was also the only man
who accompanied the women to the government house during the peaceful protest.
He also shares his thoughts and opinion on the development. Speaking with our
reporter, he said: “All they have said is true. I have heard and I have seen
and I have resolved to go with the women anywhere they want to go provided a
peaceful solution is found to this problem. After cultivating yam, they would
destroy everything. We are hunters and after laying traps, they would take all
the animals our trap caught. There are hunters in the afternoon and night and
when these Fulani herdsmen see them, they would seize their guns and the
animals they have killed from them and chase them home.
We also have pond where we fish, they also attack our
people there. They went to the place where we have our fishing ponds to
establish their tents there so that whenever they see you coming, they would
think you are coming to attack them and they would attack you instantly,
thereby preventing us from fishing in our ponds. If you have cutlass, they
would seize it from you; if you have a gun, they would equally seize it from
you. We called all the farm road owners and resolved to send the women to the
government house to inform the governor of what is happening in our community.
I was the only man in their midst that day. The commissioner of police asked us
to invite the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) Elele, to go and personally
assess the level of damage in our farms. We went to the place with the DPO who
sympathized with us after assessing the damage. All our crops were totally
destroyed. We are the main suppliers of all the maize consumed in Port Harcourt
but this year there is no maize because Fulani cattle have destroyed everything
we planted this year. This has been happening for some years but we shouted
because this year’s own has become unbearable. It has got to a stage where our
women are no longer safe to go to farm. When they see a woman on the road, they
would seize and rape her. If not for God, they would have raped my wife on June
28, 2012. How would you feel if a fellow man seizes and rapes your wife? Will
you clap for the man? No, you will retaliate and by so doing, it would
degenerate to a bigger problem. We are calling on government to move in and
arrest this ugly trend.
The police, council of chiefs and the local government
chairman have not done anything. From the information at my disposal, the
cattle no longer invade our farms but the herdsmen know all the routes; so they
now lay ambush for our women to rape them.”
Chief Samuel I Amadi (JP)
It was in Chief Amadi’s house that the elders met and
asked this reporter to do his work without fear. He also threw more light on
what is happening in Ubima. He said: “We are not happy over what is happening.
If not that we pressured the women to intervene, the youth would have caused
trouble and stampeding would have started from here. The youths were out to
fight the people but we restrained them. And these Fulani people are not ready
for any peace talks; they are ever ready with their guns and arrows and
everything to stab and shot our people. But we have told them that if they are
10, we would suppress them because if they kill 10, we would kill all of them.”
When asked to confirm the story that when policemen
went there, they were chased back by the herdsmen, he said: “They have
sophisticated guns. The police went there to ascertain the extent of damage. If
you go there and see what they have destroyed, you will sympathize with us.
Total famine will start from here; there will be scarcity of food and
government will then come in. When the people are not eating, what do you think
will happen? The Fulani are feeding on their cattle; we are feeding on our
crops. That’s all; they should allow us feed on our crops.”
On the allegation that farmers no longer go to farm,
he said: “That is why we asked the women to protest to the government house
because we don’t want to take laws into our hands. We are still waiting to hear
from both the local and state governments.”
When the leader of Fulani herdsmen in Elele area of
Rivers State, Alhaji Hussaini Sarki was contacted on phone, he said: “I don
tell Ubima people that I am a peace maker. I no dey find trouble. I don tell my
people make them no dey carry nama to rubber estate again because Ubima people
say they no want nama there. I don tell Ubima people say anybody wey they catch
that place, anything wey they like, make they do am.
“And for the rape, I don tell them say anybody wey
they catch, make they kill am. I no dey find trouble. When the women leader say
she loss her phone, I give am N7, 500 to buy another phone. I no dey find
trouble. Nothing concern me. My hand no dey inside.”
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