ANXIETY SOUTH EAST OVER INFLUX OF HERDSMAN

Anxiety in South East over influx of herdsmen Anxiety in South East over influx of herdsmen There is apprehension in the South East over the influx of Fulani herds­men into states in the region. The most affected states are Abia and Anambra, where the herdsmen have reportedly tak­en over some communities. In fact, in Abia State, Gov­ernor Okezie Ikpeazu has promised to investigate alle­gations by a community leader that the military has confiscat­ed their lands for the herds­men’s grazing activities. The alarm over the contin­ued influx of the herdsmen into the states was raised on Tues­day by the President of the Igbo Youth Forum (IYF), Comrade Kenneth Emeh, who alleged the dumping of thousands of youths from the northern parts of the country in the South East. Emeh said that thousands of Fulani herdsmen were reg­ularly transported to Anambra and other parts of Igboland. According to him, resi­dents of some rural areas in the zone have inundated him with reports of the mass move­ment of northern youths into their areas. He said even towns like Awka, the Anambra State capital and Nkpor near Onitsha were not spared. Emeh said that once the herdsmen alighted from their vehicles, they would disappear into the various communities in the South East where they per­fect strategies for their mission. Last Monday, the people of Akanukwu autonomous com­munity in Abia State alleged the forceful ceding of their lands to Hausa/ Fulani herdsmen by the Brigade Commander of Ohafia Army Barracks. The traditional ruler of the community, His Royal High­ness Mba Odoekereke, who raised the alarm during a town hall meeting with Governor Ikpeazu at the headquarters of Ohafia Local Government Area, said there were no few­er than 500 Hausa/ Fulani cur­rently quartered at the Ohafia Army Barracks. The monarch, who said he had a military background, said it was an aberration for civilians to be quartered in military bar­racks, wondering why the mil­itary authorities would convert parts of the host community’s lands to grazing fields. He decried the continued destruction of the community’s farmlands and crops by cows, adding that the continued pres­ence of the civilians in the bar­racks posed a serious security risk to the locals. The monarch called for the immediate ejection of the herdsmen from the barracks to douse the mounting tension caused by their presence in the area. Responding, Governor Ik­peazu said his earlier stance that “Abia has no land for grazing” had not changed. He argued that the entire South East zone has lesser land mass than a state in the North, insisting that grazing reserves should be limited to the North as southern states have limited lands. His words: “Our position is that the entire landmass of all the states in the South East is less than the landmass of one state in the North. “There is no grazing land in the South East. We are looking for land; we don’t have enough. Again, God put a lot of miner­als beneath our soil. Nobody should graze on them,” Ikpea­zu said. The governor however cau­tioned some locals about en­tering into business deals with herdsmen for personal inter­ests that could undermine their communities’ interest. He promised to meet with the Brigade Commander with a view to finding out the true position of things as regards the allegation, while appealing to the locals to remain calm and not take laws into their hands.