Speaking at a press conference today [Friday], the President of the Suudu Baaba Fulani Association of Ghana, Osman Barry, complained of the “repeated atrocities perpetrated against Fulanis”.

[contextly_sidebar id=”DeV29pyC1689dT81eNyCLSPqchMm6We2″]He also called for compensation for Fulani victims of the operation, following what some have described as the harsh methods of the task-force, christened “Operation Cow Leg”.

The task-force is currently in Agogo, which has been a hotbed of tensions involving nomadic herdsmen, some of which are of Fulani extraction.

Osman Barry said a declaration of war on Fulanis is a violation of their fundamental human rights, hence their call.

“We wish to reiterate that Fulanis have been in the geographic entity for about 350 years. We therefore humbly appeal to his excellency, Nana Addo Danqua Akufo-Addo, to use his good office to bring the ongoing hostilities against the Fulanis, without any further delay.”

“We equally wish to appeal to his Excellency to ensure that adequate compensations are paid to the innocent victimized Fulani families who have lost their cattle during the said joint operations and other atrocities,” he said.

Fulani community laments abuse

Ahead of this press conference, Osman Barry had lamented that the Fulani Community in Ghana was being maltreated by the Ghanaian government and the larger populace following disagreements that have arisen between local farmers and nomadic herdsmen in parts of the country.

In Agogo, four security personnel including three military officers and a police officer, who had been deployed to the area to evict the herdsmen, were shot and injured by an unknown assailant following the renewed government efforts to address the long-standing conflict.

Following this, the government dispatched about 200 personnel drawn from the military and police services to the Asante Akyem North and Sekyere Afram Plains districts of the Ashanti Region to join the task-force.

There were reports of herdsmen fleeing the area amid complaints of the wanton killing of cattle by the task-force.

A cattle owner in Agogo, who spoke to Citi News said he lost over 70 of his cattle to the task-force, and he had to beg the government to give him more time to move all his livestock from the area.

Task-force ‘bound to fail’

An International relations analyst, Dr. Vladimir Antwi Danso, noted that Operation Cow leg was bound to fail because it was a mere knee-jerk approach to the problem.

Observers have consistently suggested a ranching policy to address problem once and for all but the government has constantly resorted to evicting the herdsmen from one location to the other.

Bill needed to regulate sector

The MP for Ledzokuku, Dr. Okoe Boye, called for a Bill that, when passed, will regulate the rearing of cattle in Ghana.

“We have to have a Bill which will regulate the sector and encourage more [people to get in]. When it is a regulated area, it will not be left for, [for want of a better term] only to Fulani. We will have a lot of farmers who can go into that sector,” he said.

In the meantime, the government has said a programme to restrict and ranch cattle will commence upon the completion of the operation in the Asante Akyem North and Sekyere Afram Plains districts, to provide a long-term solution to the decades-old tensions arising from the herding of cattle in these areas.

Suggestions are that, for most of the herdsmen, they have only been hired by people to take care of the cattle. However they are the ones often attacked when the cattle are reportedly destroying farms, whiles the real owners including politicians and other influential persons in society, are left off the hook.

In some of the clashes that have led to the loss of lives and properties, both the nomadic herdsmen and the locals have been affected., with the herdsmen alleging that in most cases, local farmers attack them without any provocation.

Farmers on the other hand accuse the herdsmen of starting most of the conflicts.

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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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According to him, they have the backing of the Commander-in-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces to ensure that the objectives for the formation of the task-force are achieved.

He warned that an attack on the security is an attack on the state, and stressed that the Security will respond to any attack in equal measure.

“We shall be unrelenting in this assignment until we bring it to a closure,” he said.

Lieutenant General O. B Akwa gave the assurance on Tuesday as he addressed members of the Agogo Traditional Council when he led a high powered delegation on a fact-finding mission to the area.

“You all recall that not too long ago there was a major incident here where some soldiers and policemen were attacked in the course of their duty. And we want to make this point very clear that no attack on a soldier, policeman or any other security person or an ordinary citizen of Ghana shall go without a response. And this response will be proportionate, it will be graduated, depending on the level of attack, we will up our game. It will address the core problems of the traditional area.”

“In response to that, we decided under the authority of the Commander In Chief, to send in reinforcement, to send a clear message to those who are involved in this dastardly act that they cannot continue to act with impunity in the state of Ghana,” he added.

Agogo Queen mother speaks

Queen mother of the Agogo Traditional area, Nana Afrankoma Kusi Boateng, also asked the Inspector General of Police to investigate the former Police Commander for Agogo, ASP Samuel Azugu.

She alleged that ASP Azugu in the course of his work shirked his responsibilities as a police officer, and must be investigated and punished to serve as a deterrent to others.

She also advised the new Police Commander to reject any form of inducement from cattle owners and herdsmen and execute his duties in a professional manner.

Background

The warning comes in the wake of last week’s attack on some four members of the task-force, three military officers and a police officer, who sustained gunshot wounds.

According to Police in the area, the assailant lay in wait and shot at the security personnel, who were in the bush as part of measures to evict the nomadic herdsmen and their cattle.

“Please advise the new district police commander here. Tell him to resist any bribery temptations. A former commander who was assigned here was not helpful. I will plead with government to investigate him and if possible sack him from the police service if possible,” she said.

On the nomadic herdsmen issue, she pledged the support of the Council to activities of the task-force.

200 military, police deployed to Agogo

Government subsequently dispatched about 200 personnel drawn from the military and police service to Agogo and Sekyere Afram Plains districts to flush out the nomadic herdsmen who are reportedly terrorizing residents of those areas.

A statement signed by a Deputy Minister of Information, Curtis Perry Kwabia Okudzeto, said the joint security team has been tasked to “push back the herdsmen from new areas they have occupied, arrest perpetrators of recent acts of violence for prosecution, and augment the efforts of Operation Cowleg, an ongoing security operation aimed at dealing with the activities of herdsmen in the area.”

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By: Godwin A. Allotey & Hafiz Tijani/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

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