"The Troubles", Part Two

Think of a chemistry experiment where two elements are combined - cows and crops. Add a dangerous catalyst and stand back from the ensuing explosion!

For years and years in the northern part of Benue State, where we are in Makurdi, the Fulani grazers and the Tiv farmers got along very well. Bishop Inyom tells of Fulani playmates and easy mixing between the two. The farmers were happy to let the Fulani graze their lands until the early plants emerged.

So what has happened to bring the troubles here to the northern part of Benue? It's complicated, especially to those who live here and certainly to an outsider. It seems probable that Fulani from the outside, from Cameroon and Chad, have come into the camps and stirred up animosity. Perhaps some Tiv leaders have looked the other way when the Fulani raiders attack the farmers. Perhaps something altogether different has been at work.

The result? The Fulani have raided and burned farms; the farmers have raided and killed cattle. Over 100 people have been killed in this uprising of last Spring. This has meant that the farms are no longer safe for the Tiv, and most have become displaced and have moved in large numbers to their relatives in Makurdi.

Sadly, this kind of violence disrupts and destroys even the memory of better times between the Fulani herders and the farmers.