Day Bokolo Fulanis Chased Away Our Security Men 

By Umaru Ezekiel Esude 

If you have never heard of Bokolo Fulanis, thank God for your peaceful life.

These are a different faction of herders. Their cattle have little or no horns, but carry massive humps. Even the regular Fulani herders don’t joke with them.

It happened during the peak of the dry season.

Every year, they migrate toward Ibaji because of the fresh grasses and abundant water.

One afternoon, a Fulani leader from a nearby settlement quietly sent word to me.

«”Manager… they’re coming.”»

Immediately, I called our office and reinforcement funds were released. We mobilized our farm security because we knew this wasn’t an ordinary movement.

Some of our security men even disappeared briefly…

Later, we discovered they had gone home to “fortify themselves.” 😂

Around 8:00 p.m., our security team sighted them.

A thick cloud of dust was rising from a distance.

Not because of a storm…

It was thousands of cattle moving like an army.

Every farm on their path was being flattened. Farmers who had spent months cultivating their crops watched helplessly as everything disappeared in minutes.

Unfortunately, our farm wasn’t spared.

The cattle diverted into a small stream inside our farm to drink water.

To reach the stream, they had to pass through part of our cassava plantation.

Our brave security men stood their ground.

Local guns pointed.

Chest out.

One of them even shouted, “Nobody should move!”

Then…

The herders calmly lifted their AK-47 rifles.

My dear brothers and sisters…

Our security men suddenly remembered there were important things waiting for them at home. 😂😂

The race that followed deserved an Olympic gold medal.

One jumped over a cassava ridge like a professional athlete.

Another disappeared into the bush without leaving footprints.

One even forgot the local gun he came with.

A few minutes later, my phone rang.

“Manager…”

His voice was shaking.

“Please pray for us.”

I asked, “Where are you?”

He whispered…

“I’m inside one thick bush. Don’t call this number again. They may hear the ringtone.” 😂😂😂

Sleep abandoned me that night.

By morning, part of our cassava field was gone, and many neighbouring farmers had suffered even heavier losses.

Looking back today, we laugh because everyone survived.

But the truth remains painful.

No farmer should spend months working only to lose everything overnight because animals are allowed to roam freely across cultivated land.

Nigeria has enough land for modern ranching. Open grazing continues to create unnecessary conflict between farmers and herders, destroys livelihoods, discourages agricultural investment, and threatens our food security.

If we truly want to grow agriculture and feed this nation, we must embrace ranching and gradually phase out open grazing in a fair and practical way.

Farming is hard enough.

No farmer should have to compete with an army of hungry cattle.

Have you ever witnessed anything like this? Let’s hear your experience.