Fulani saga: Regsec considers withdrawing boots

The Ashanti Regional Security Council (REGSEC) is considering withdrawing security personnel from Agogo.

The personnel were sent there to keep peace between Fulani herdsmen and indigenes of the area after months of disturbances.

Heightened tensions between the nomadic herdsmen and residents early this year resulted in the loss of lives and destruction of property, prompting the deployment of security personnel to the area.

But at a press soiree Friday May 27, Regional Minister and head of the Security Council John Alexander Ackon said the council was considering a withdrawal of the troops.

He noted that finding a land that would be dedicated to cattle rearing could be the solution to the Agogo-Fulani crisis.

“At our last regional security meeting, we were thinking of withdrawing the security at this time, but the next meeting will decide finally what we should do”, he stated, adding: “But let me use the opportunity to make an urgent appeal that we want the youth of Agogo as an association to join us in the final resolution of the Agogo crisis”.

“Our mind is in two folds: apart from the short term, which causes the cattle to move in thousands, the long term effect, by our estimation, if we should meet and get stakeholders to get a multi-sector approach… Minister of Interior, Lands and Natural Resources, Works, Housing and Water Resources, Agriculture, Finance, and maybe some development partners to sit together, the essence is very simple – we need a land dedicated to the rearing of the cattle.

“So, we thought if [REGSEC] should get those entire things together with the Agogo chiefs and the youth, we should be able to get a new land devoid of such issues and try to do cages and put them in. Finance is there because there will be financial issues. It does not mean finance will provide the funds; what it means is that there should be a principle of work and development partners may want to help us out somehow,” Mr Ackon said.