A Convener of the Nigerian Indigenous Nationalities Alliance, Professor Yusuf Turaki has highlighted the traditional practice where Fulani herders would seasonally migrate their cattle to the Middle Belt during the dry season and return to the far North in the rainy season. This seasonal migration fostered a beneficial economic and agricultural relationship between the Fulani herders and the indigenous communities.
He lamented the abandonment of this old practice, which he viewed as an exemplary policy that once ensured harmony and mutual benefit. He stated that the Fulani herders have now forsaken the tradition of seasonal grazing and have adopted a permanent residency approach, choosing to live year-round with the farmers. He noted that this shift has disrupted the once-cooperative dynamic and has become a significant source of conflict.
He said in an interview with The Sun, ”The false spirit of revisionism has seriously outdated anyone in Nigeria who is still talking about farmers-herders clashes. The Fulani herders would only move their cattle to the Middle Belt in the dry season in the past. They usually moved their cattle back to the far North during the rainy season.
It was an excellent economic and agricultural policy between the Fulani and the indigenous people. This old practice has been abandoned today. The practice today is that the Fulani herders have abandoned the old tradition of seasonal grazing and have opted for permanency, to live with the farmers, thus creating conflict with farmers.”….Seē _ Morē