As Nigeria grapples with the Boko Haram
insurgency ravaging the North-Eastern part of
the country, the option of recruiting and
paying “attractive amount of money” to Fulani
herdsmen to tackle the insurgents has been
recommended to the Federal Government.
The recommendation is contained in a bulky
report titled: “Towards a New Dawn in Nigeria
post 2015.” It is a compendium of papers,
suggestions, analyses, and reports presented
by, scholars and policy practitioners
assembled by former President Olusegun
Obasanjo.
Mr. Obasanjo assembled the think-tank of
experts, as special committees of the Centre
for Human Security of the Olusegun Obasanjo
Presidential Library, to provide actionable and
“innovative” policy recommendations for
President Muhammadu Buhari to tackle
myriad of challenges – particularly those of
security, economy, education, and
infrastructure – facing Nigeria.
The recommendation of recruiting Fulani
herdsmen to confront Boko Haram insurgents
was made by a team led by Ahmed Joda and
consisted of Nuhu Ribadu, Steve Orosanye,
Tunji Olagunju, George Obiozor, Yusufu Pam,
and Peter Okebukola.
Mr. Joda was also head of the transition
committee set up by President Muhammadu
Buhari before his inauguration while most of
the others held various positions during the
Obasanjo presidency with Mr. Ribadu being
the internationally acclaimed pioneer
chairman of Nigeria’s major anti-corruption
agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission [EFCC].
Noting the socio-economic conditions which
provide easy recruits for Boko Haram, the
team stated that, “a Boko Haram recruit is
offered a juicy pay in a milieu where
joblessness pervades”.
Five Steps
In its recommendation, the team made a five-
point proposition, covering finance,
recruitment, accountability, reward, as well as
schedule and propaganda.
It asked the Defence Ministry to determine the
battle fronts where the herdsmen would be
needed and the specific number and duration
of service to ensure accountability of the
process. This, according to the report, will
involve working in collaboration with civilian
Joint Task Force.
According to the report, the second step would
involve the Presidency and the National
Assembly. After the Defence Ministry and
Civilian JTF must have concluded issues of
finance, personnel, and logistics, the
presidency should present the case to the
National Assembly for urgent approval of
funds needed.
Subsequently, a joint team of defence
officials, civilian JTF and heads of Fulani
herdsmen would be commissioned to recruit
and pay the volunteers with accurate records
kept.
The fourth proposal involves saddling the
Federal Ministry of Information, National
Orientation Agency, as well as public and
private media houses with war propaganda.
They are to embark on “intensive broadcast of
jingles to the general public and use
propaganda to cause panic in the ranks of the
insurgents.”
Similarly, the team proposed that agencies of
the federal and state governments, vigilante
groups, telecommunication companies and
non-governmental organisations should
dissipate efforts towards massive
enlightenment about how the insurgents, not
government troops, are killing people and the
success stories of government’s efforts. The
enlightenment should also include committing
religious leaders like the Sultan of Sokoto and
other Islamic scholars to condemn terrorism
and “preach true tenets of Islam”.
In its last proposition on the use of Fulani
herdsmen to confront Boko Haram, the team
proposed that the National Intelligence
Agency, State Security Service and the media
are to provide “random monitoring of the
Fulani herdsmen especially during pay period
to ensure they are getting their agreed
payments”.
Use hunters too
In another recommendation off conventional
military deployment, the think-tank also asked
the federal government to adopt the “Mubi
Model” of supporting, rewarding, and arming
hunters to fight Boko Haram.
The Mubi model refers to the incident in
November 2014 when a group of hunters and
local vigilante mobilised and successfully
liberated Mubi and other towns in Adamawa
State hitherto occupied by the Boko Haram
sect.
The think-tank therefore urged the federal
government and governments of the
insurgency-ravaged North-Eastern states to
“review the vigilante strategy and support
volunteer hunters with generous welfare,
military training and light weapons” and
provide “corruption free reward system to the
vigilantes that is sustainable and competitive
to Boko Haram financial offers.”
The committee’s recommendation of using
herdsmen and hunters to fight Boko Haram is
to supplement the efforts of the Nigerian
military.
It urged the consolidation of the military
campaign, as well as motivation and provision
of adequate equipment for the military to be
able to defeat the insurgents whose actions
have caused the death of about 20,000
people, mostly in Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa
states since 2009. http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/188828-exclusive-use-fulani-herdsmen-hunters-to-fight-boko-haram-joda-ribadu-others-advise-buhari.html

FTCc...
May everybdy be under u today... Just lik me

Back to topic.. I ask
How can a kingdom fight itself
It cannot stand..
I see no diff btwn a fulani herdman and boko haram

Some Fulani herdsmen may still be part of Boko haram!!!

Hehehehehehehehehehe

Joda is truly a man living in the 19th century. How can you use people who have the same ideology with the terrorists to fight them?...People who kills for fun and sport!

Damn!...Plateau and Benue people won't like this, omenka most especially.

Giving arms to fulani herdsmen

They are brothers in islam, it will not work

Chu

So let some soldiers keep chilling and strolling with their guns at bar beach.

might work.... they know the terrain better plus their reasoning is somewhat similar too

Don't trust the fulani herds men.

would buhari allow that, brothers fighting brothers. remember they are both brothers.

Smooyis:
Don't trust the fulani herds men.

Its a very bad,deadly advice,it will surely leads to ethinic cleansing at the end
Because i dont think other tribe will be watching their brothers killed by fulanis in the name of Bokoharam