#Fulani herders are once again being threatened with expulsion in central #Ghana. Here’s some context on what’s going on, based on some of my work over the last year.
Earlier this week Tabital Pulaaku Ghana, a civil society group focused on issues affecting Fulani communities, issued a statement “pleading” with a paramount chief in Ashanti region to not evict Fulani herders from his area.
https://twitter.com/EliasuAlhaji/status/1599692437395738624?s=20&t=MCMz7uzH5Y-EO8Wd0ATuSg
The expulsion order was issued in response to a surge in crime around Ejura which is being blamed on Fulani herders. “We’ll kill any cattle found in any village,” he told a gathering of chiefs, elders and security services. “We don’t want any Fulani herdsmen to live among us.”
This follows a pattern across Ghana of Fulani being increasingly scapegoated for a perceived rise in crime. I’ve written a bit about this here: icwa.org/ghana-regional…
Two noteworthy features: timing and geography. Disputes between farmers and herders (said to be a contributing factor in the expulsion decision) are always worse this time of year during dry season as herders bring their livestock south in search of greener pastures.
Secondly, conflict between Fulani herders and farmers in Ghana tends to be more intense in the center and south compared to the north, where at least farmers and herders often share a common religion (Islam) and have had more exposure to one another.
How the paramount chief’s order is enforced will be important. As Tabital Pulaaku’s statement infers, previous government efforts to evict Fulani by force (see Agogo and Operation Cow Leg) have only led to more violence and tension between communities and the state.
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