‘They fight to finish': 10 major characteristics of Fulani herdsmen

It is no longer news that the constant clashes between Fulani herdsmen and farmers in most parts of Nigeria has taken a dangerous dimension...

Agatu indigenes recently staged a protest in the National Assembly over the activities of the Fulani herdsmen

Frequently, the Nigerian media space is awash with stories of how Fulani herdsmen armed with sophisticated weapons storm villages and kill innocent villagers.

Our Source has been privy to an information purportedly written by a security officer attached to the first Governor-General of the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria, the late Lord Lugard.

The information was recently brought to the public domain by national secretary of the Gan Allah Fulani Development Association, Sale Bayari.

The information is titled "10 major characteristics of the Fulani herdsmen". 

Read below:

The unnamed security officer reportedly described the Fulani herdsmen ascetic and generous, but warned that no one should fight a war with them because they have:

1. No rules of engagement (they hit again and again).

2. No prisoners of war: They don't take prisoners.

3. No mercy once they pick you out as their enemy.

4. No fighting fatigue (they are forever fit and prepared, due to their lifestyle).

5. No need for adequate provisions and permanent abode (they live on very little and sleep in the wilderness).

6. No end to hostilities (they fight to finish).

7. No ignorance of the terrain and location (their lifestyle makes everyone of them a human GPS).

8. No deterrence due to casualties (they are strategically distributed all over West and Central Africa and highly mobile).#

9. No need for tranquility (they have no permanent settlements which need peace to thrive.

10. No fear of consequences.

Meanwhile, peace talks have been planned by the federal government to address the constant clashes between farmers and Fulani herdsmen in the country.

According to a statement by Osaigbove Ehisienmen, the press secretary to the minister of interior, Abdulrahman Dambazau, the government will organise a town hall meeting between both groups soon.

In a related development, Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue state has said that Fulani herdsmen are not responsible for the attacks on farming communities in the country.

The governor said the attacks in the country were not carried out by Fulani herdsmen but herdsmen from from Mali, Ghana, Congo and Niger