Ben Ezechime, Enugu
The Eha-Amufu Community in Isi Uzo Local Government area of Enugu State has been in crisis for quite sometime now with no end in sight.
The hitherto peaceful agrarian community came into wrong focus in 2022, when a widely reported attacks by Fulani herdsmen, who allegedly invaded the community’s farmlands at Mgbuji town leading to many deaths and injuries to some others.
The incident shook the entire Isi Uzo Local Government Area and Enugu State in particular as cases of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) spread across the length and breadth of the area.
Since that ugly incident, the government of Enugu State and the Isu Uzo Local Government authority have been thinking out of the box on how to stem the tide of crisis and return permanent peace to the area.
The government of Enugu State has, in recent past, liaised with the Federal security authorities to station a unit of Mobile Police Force and about 200 soldiers in the area to curtail reported occasional crisis in the area.
The government also designated some parts of the vast farmlands as produce areas, all in the efforts to ensuring all-round peaceful farming in the disputed areas.
Arguably, Eha-Amufu community has vast expanse of farmlands, which if well utilised can feed Enugu State and contribute meaningfully to the food basket of the entire country.
Meanwhile, with all the measures so far taken by the government, Eha-Amufu has continued to witness negative media reports ranging from isolated killings, arson, rape, beatings and so in.
Sometimes some of these crises are termed either communal crises or farmers/herders clashes.
There had been allegations of political interference with unsubstantiated claims that some disgruntled politicians are capitalising on the crisis in Eha-Amufu to settle political scores.
Only recently, there was a reported mass protests by some women of Eha-Amufu against mass killings, arson and rape in the community allegedly perpetrated by herdsmen.
In the protest, which was widely reported in various media outlets, the women claimed that there were recent mass killings, harassment and rape in the area by suspected herders.
But while speaking to some select Journalists on the matter, the Isi Uzo Council Chairman, Mr Obiora Obeagu, and some members of the community, debunked the claim by the protesters, claiming that the said protest was a fake video meant to cause confusion and disaffection in the area.
However, a native of Eha-Amufu, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told Ikengaonline that there was growing suspicion in the area over who owned the cattle that the herdsmen are shepherding.
He said, that was actually the crux of the matter in Eha-Amufu community.
“Who are the real owners of these cattle; are they really the Fulanis?
“Many people believe that some rich and powerful persons, not the ordinary Fulanis, are the owners of these cattle, hence they don’t want to take drastic actions to end the crisis,” he said.
A native of Mgbuji, where the fight has been going on since 2022, lamented that only women now reside in the town as most men have fled the town for fear of being killed.
“As I speak with you, people are attacked in our farms almost on daily basis, there are no more men at Mgbuji, only those men who are paid to guide the town are there.
“All men have left since 2022; we can no longer go to our villages again,” he said.
A staff of College of Education, Eha-Amufu, confirmed that the crisis does not affect the college area but confirmed that, out of the seven autonomous communities in the area, Mgbuji was the most affected.
“Mgbuji is the most affected: we also heard that a neighbouring community to Mgbuji was attacked last week.
“There are always reports of isolated attacks but we only heard it from afar,” he said.
Unless a thorough and unbiased investigations and actions are taken by both the relevant authorities there is a very long way to go in achieving a lasting peace in Eha-Amufu.
