Political and security Analyst, Irbard Ibrahim
A political and security Analyst, Irbard Ibrahim, has cautioned government over the directive to flush out nomadic Fulani herdsmen from the country.
The herders have been accused of several atrocities in the area, mainly destruction of property and farmlands belonging to indigenes, who are mostly farmers. The nomads have also been accused of robbery and rape.
The latest killing of a 27-year-old man on Tuesday 2 February, just a week after the youth in the area issued a warning to all nomads to leave Agogo with their cattle, have angered residents, who have vowed to take things into their own hands.
The situation is no different from that of the Dorfor Avegame area located in the Volta Region.
The queenmother of the town, Mamaga Alovi, has vowed to drive away Fulani herdsmen from her jurisdiction.
It would be recalled that earlier this week, a farmer was tied to a tree and beaten up by Fulani herdsmen in the region after she complained of cattle trampling her farmland.
A total of 20 military officers and 40 policemen moved to Agogo to carry out an order by authorities to evacuate the Fulanis in the area.
According to the security analyst, “Ghana’s government is making a grave mistake by using brute force to dislodge some ECOWAS citizens from the Agogo area”.
He has pointed out that the decision “could dent the country's international reputation vis-à-vis respect for human rights”.
He proposes that a civil means be used in dealing with the situation rather than resorting to brute force.
“Proper notice could have been given to make this eviction peaceful and dignifying. Ghanaians could end up vulnerable in other countries. We sacked Yoruba people and others from Accra a few decades ago and we saw the repercussions on Ghanaians living in other countries. All men are equal before God,” he added in a Facebook post on his wall on Wednesday 3 February in reaction to the news of evacuation.
Meanwhile a security expert at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC), Dr Kwesi Aning, has also criticised Ghanaians for what he describes as a “xenophobic attitude” against the Fulani herdsmen in the country.
Dr Aning has also blamed government for failing to address the Fulani situation, in time, and, allowing the rift between locals and Fulani herdsmen to degenerate to the current situation where both sides are arming themselves for war.
“The triggers for what we are seeing are not different from the past. The only difference now is the seemingly organised response and almost justificatory xenophobic rhetoric that Fulanis are non-Ghanaians. ‘They are troublemakers and it is almost legitimate to respond anyhow to Fulanis’, which I think is most unfortunate and unacceptable,” he told Class FM’s Emefa Apawu in an interview on Wednesday 3rd February, 2016.
