Call all herdsmen who commit crime by their names not by their tribe – Fulani youth

The Secretary of the Fulani Youth Association at Mamme Krobo in the Kwahu Afram Plains District of the Eastern Region has called on Ghanaians to call out herdsmen who commit a crime by their names and not by their tribe, Fulani.

"Henceforth the name of every herdsman who commits a crime must be mentioned and not his tribe," he said.

Mr Issah Abdul Samed argued that every herdsman operating in the district has a name but quite often the tribe Fulani is used to lump all of them together to paint the bad picture that all Fulanis are criminals.

He noted that this action is putting the people of the Fulani tribe in a bad light leading to communal confrontations in many of the areas with Fulani people.

The Secretary of the Fulani Youth Association made this comment in an interview on Accra 100.5FM’s 6 a.m. news on Wednesday, February 15, 2023, after some reprisal attacks on Fulanis in the Maame Krobo area last week.

According to him, two Fulani men have been killed and one beheaded as a result of reprisal attacks.

He explained that the one who was beheaded had his chamber and hall he built for rent torched by some irate youth in the area after the incident of some youth attacking the cattle of a gentleman who subsequently reported the issue to the police.

He said oftentimes, when a few rascals in the herding space commit a crime, all Fulanis doing their lawful duties get blamed for the crime of a few.

He said this situation is worrying and is further destroying the relationship between the people of the Fulani communities and their host.

He added that the matter of the rift between the indigenes and Fulanis have been reported to the District Chief Executive and District Director of the National Bureau of Investigations (NIB) but has yielded no results.

According to him, Fulanis are well-meaning people who have the development of the country at heart.

For his part, the Fulani chief of Afram Plains, Alhaji Iddrisa Sambo, said Fulanis are people of repute adding that Fulanis are living in the country doing lawful business.

He expressed worry that stereotyping is destroying the image of Fulanis in the country.