‘Don’t Toy With Fulani Herdsmen Militia’, Ghanaian Army Chief Orders Shoot To Kill In Danger
The Oasis Reporters
January 14, 2018
The herdsmen menace all over West Africa has reached a crisis point and the Ghanaian military is taking no chances.
“…I believe in safety first, if you see anybody holding arms and wants to attack, please don’t waste time”. These were the orders from Konongo Divisional Police Commander, Superintendent Bossman Ohene-Boadi.
He was addressing the about 200 combined military and police force deployed to evacuate the Fulani nomads from the Asante Akyem North and Sekyere Afram Plains Districts in the Ashanti Region, when he made the comments.
He ordered the team of armed military and police force to shoot on sight in the wake of the slightest threat.
Supt. Boadi painted a horrific picture of the nomads when he addressed the battle-ready men in uniform as they set off to evacuate nomadic Fulani herdsmen from Agogo land.
“…They are not people we have to toy with, they are dangerous, if you joke with them, they will take your life”, he said.
The Fulani herdsmen have over the years been accused of destroying farmlands of Agogo residents and at times killing the farmers.
Three soldiers and a police officer were left in critical condition after being ambushed and shot by persons suspected to be Fulani herdsmen on Monday at Agogo on their normal operation.
The security personnel deployed at Asante Akyem North and Sekyere Afram Plains Districts have therefore been told to defend themselves.
“…Are Fulanis better than us? Can they shoot better than us? Nobody should die in the bush, no risk taking”, he added.
All across the West African subregion, from Mauritania to Senegal, Ghana and Nigeria, destruction and death has been trailing the appearance of the nomadic herdsmen who have refused to adopt modern methods of grazing their cattle in ranches, following global best practices, that is fifty times more profitable, but would rather stick to their 18th century model of moving from place to place while destroying the crops of farmers and killing many of them in their wake. This has been a source of food shortages in the sub region leading to ballooning food imports by governments.
Their movement to more lush green farming belts has caused acrimony, and this can be partly attributable to global warming and the failure of government to roll back deforestation, as well as unwillingness to accept modern practices in animal husbandry.
Source: mobile.ghanaweb.com
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