Background Report: The Fulani Herdsmen (Part I — Key Findings, Introduction, and History)

Previously published November 2016 (Project Cyma)

KEY FINDINGS

The current conflict in Nigeria between the Fulani herdsmen and their neighbors stems from a long history of feuding, farming, and herding, and will not easily be resolved. Preexisting communal conflicts have fueled violence as herdsmen turn militant in the face of urbanization, desertification, and the indifference of the Nigerian government to their plight. Fulani violence has taken more lives in the past six months than has Boko Haram, Nigeria’s most prominent terrorist organization, and it shows no signs of slowing in its deadly pace.

Similarities have been observed between the Fulani militants and Boko Haram, and there have been accusations of collusion between the two groups. However, these claims appear to be largely unfounded. Despite certain connections in their methods and spirituality, the two harbor vastly different aims, and thus are unlikely to be connected. The aim of Boko Haram is to kill and inspire fear as a way to grasp official control of the northern region from the Nigerian government, which it sees as the figurehead for a sinful western state. The Fulani militants simply seek land and notice, and often vengeance.

Solutions to the crisis must address these goals not as the goals of terrorists but as goals that the militants share with the people from which they have come. When the concerns of the Fulani as an ethnic group are addressed, it will finally be possible to work toward peace in the region. In resolving the area’s issues, however, there will be complications, and so the effort will require communication and compromise on all levels.

INTRODUCTION

Each year, the Global Terrorism Index compiles a list of the world’s most deadly terrorist organizations. In 2013, Nigeria’s Fulani Ethnic Militia did not rank among the top five groups, having been the cause of only 63 deaths throughout the year. The following year, however, the militants were responsible for 1,229 deaths, which placed them at number four on the list, outdone by only the Taliban, the Islamic State, and Boko Haram. Since then, the Fulani militants have continued to cause death and destruction in Nigeria and the neighboring Central African Republic.(1) In the first quarter of 2016, Fulani militants were responsible for nearly 500 deaths, and have showed no signs of slowing down. Despite the havoc that has been wrought by this group, the Fulani are largely ignored in discussions of world terror, and if mentioned are overshadowed by Nigeria’s second terror group, Boko Haram.(2) This may not be the case for much longer, as Boko Haram begins to fall behind the Fulani in terms of casualties, having been responsible for 330 deaths in early 2016 compared to the Fulani militants’ 488. As such, it has been predicted that the Fulani might well surpass Boko Haram as Nigeria’s most dangerous group within the year.

The Fulani militants share some similarities with Boko Haram, as both have plagued the Nigerian government and populace for years. However, the groups also display marked differences. While the more infamous terror group wages war against the Nigerian government and the western way of life, its very name decrying western teachings as anathema to Islam, the Fulani have simpler goals. The large majority of Fulani are herders, and their attacks, though sometimes in retribution for the deaths of kinsmen or meant to target rival communities, are focused on gaining grazeable land for the Fulani cattle. While the Fulani people’s Islamic faith often sets them at odds with local communities, it is around their herds that the violence is centered.

As their motivations for violence differ, so do the methods used by the Fulani and Boko Haram. First and foremost, while Boko Haram targets the northern region of Nigeria, as well as small parts of neighboring nations, the Fulani have confined their attacks to Nigeria’s middle belt and some areas of the Central African Republic. In their attacks, the Fulani largely target civilians, with very few Fulani attacks targeting sites that are solely military or governmental in nature. Boko Haram targets private citizens as well, but also makes efforts to destabilize the government and compromise military positions, at points engaging in full-fledged campaigns against Nigerian armed forces. Additionally, the Fulani militia attacks are conducted primarily by armed gunmen, focusing on clearing land and inflicting casualties through the use of firearms. Their counterpart in the north, however, employs suicide bombers, roadside explosive devices, and has more than once conducted the siege of a protected city. While the two groups have both had significant impact on Nigeria in recent years, they have done so in vastly different ways.

Government action has not been forthcoming against the Fulani militants, and bills intended to resolve issues in the middle belt have been highly contested in the Nigerian legislature. Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has been accused of giving the Fulani preferential treatment due to his own Fula heritage, and legislation proposed by his party has been met with suspicion and outrage. This legislation, a series of attempts to provide grazing land for the Fulani herdsmen, has been rejected at least once already, though the government continues its attempts to resolve the conflict peacefully.(3) As of June 8, the Nigerian military was not being used to counteract the efforts of Fulani militants, and members of the government have expressed the improbable belief that local police forces have the resources to get the situation under control. Though the seemingly-feeble government response to a recent surge in Fulani attacks is disheartening to many of its constituents, it is somewhat understandable due to the host of threats with which Nigeria is dealing.(4)

The Fulani crisis is a unique and emerging one, and will have to be resolved with care, any possible solutions involving joint efforts by the Fulani, the Nigerian government, and the people of the middle belt. The motives of the Fulani, while simple, can not be satisfied with any simple resolution. The Fulani threat will likely continue to rise in coming months as a cycle of enmity emerges between Fulani and the locals affected by militant action, and the national government will find itself pressed more and more to intervene. Regardless of how tensions in the region are alleviated, the solution will have a lasting impact on the region.

THE FULANI HISTORICALLY

The Fulani in Nigeria are a part of the Peul, or Fula, ethnic group, which has existed in some form for thousands of years. There are about 20 million Fulani in Africa today, but the largest community is located in Nigeria, where they make up one of the nation’s largest ethnic groups. The Fula people are almost solely Muslim, having converted to Islam from their traditional belief system in the 1500s, and most Fulani maintain a semi-nomadic lifestyle, earning them the appellation of “Fulani herdsmen.” The current struggle between the Fulani and other peoples of Nigeria represents the end result of years of conflict between the Fulani and others in the area and results from many social, economic, and environmental factors that have long affected the Fulani.

As recently as 1903, there existed a Fula-led empire in West Africa, namely the Sokoto Caliphate. When this caliphate was abolished by the British, its people remained, and have endured to the present day. In the modern era, many West African governments have tried to force the Fulani to abandon their pastoralist, nomadic way of life in favor of a more sedentary existence, a demand that has not been met with uniform acceptance. Along with governmental restrictions, drought and desertification have conspired to shrink the amount of land available in West Africa for Fulani herds,(5) with some sources claiming that nearly half of Nigeria’s land could be at risk of desertification in the future.(6)

Today, Nigeria’s Fulani constitute the fourth-largest ethnic group nationally, with a population of over seven million. Roughly 13 million more Fulani reside outside Nigeria, in surrounding countries like Niger, Mali, and Guinea. In Nigeria, the large majority of Fulani are nomadic, and as such they have long requested land from the government for the dedicated purpose of grazing.(7) The Fulani in Nigeria have long competed with other communities like the Hausa for land, and these conflicts have only increased since the 1999 democratization of Nigeria.

In the past, the Fulani have engaged in fighting with other local groups, specifically the Jukun, Eggon, and Tiv communities; the disputes with these communities have been primarily focused around land disputes, though religious concerns have fueled the violence as well. Never before, however, have Fulani resorted to such widespread terrorist activity. In fact, between 2010 and 2013, only 80 people were killed by Fulani militants compared to more than 1,200 killed in 2014 alone, an escalation for which many factors have been credited. The Nigerian government has not addressed Fulani concerns, and many Fulani have been forced to leave their lands in recent years by deforestation, causing them to become unfamiliar with permissible grazing lands, angering local communities. Additionally, some traditional pathways through which the conflicts could have been resolved have been eliminated, and cattle rustling in Nigeria has seriously increased, creating a great danger for Fulani herdsmen, both personally and economically.

The history of the Fulani, and their nature as pastoralists, has contributed significantly to the burgeoning conflict at hand. Generations-old conflicts with neighboring communities are being dredged up on both sides, with many Fulani attacks contributed to these communal feuds, either as an initiation of or a reprisal for hostilities. The widespread population of Fulani has suffered as well, their reputations and their livelihoods challenged by shrinking pastures and growing resentment due to militant activity. Gone are the days that the Fulani ruled the farmland of central Nigeria, but the Fula ethnic group still constitutes a major factor in the area, and they must be taken seriously, both as citizens, in the case of the innocent and peaceful herdsmen, and, in the case of the militant members of the ethnic group, as a threat to the fragile region. While any solution must benefit both the citizens and the militants, it is important to recognize the distinction, and to not let the violence of some pollute the honor and legacy of others.

References

1. Global Terrorism Index — 2015. Institute for Economics and Peace. Print.
2. Batten-Crew, Matt. “Nigeria — May 2016 Update.” Acleddata Crisis. ACLED, 6 May 2016. Web.
3. “Fulani Cows, Grazing Reserve Bill and the Looming Trouble — Vanguard News.” Vanguard News. 23 Apr. 2016. Web. 18 June 2016.
4. “Buhari Won’t Deploy Military.” Riverine News. Web.
5. “Fulani.” — Introduction, Location, Language, Folklore, Religion, Major Holidays, Rites of Passage. Every Culture. Web. 19 June 2016.
6. “43.3% Land Area Prone to Desertification in Nigeria — Mailafia — Vanguard News.” Vanguard News. 08 July 2013. Web.
7. “Field Listing: Ethnic Groups.” Central Intelligence Agency. Central Intelligence Agency. Web.