'Ranches Being Established to Solve Fulani Menace' - President Akufo-Addo

The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, is establishing ranches in some parts of the country, aimed at finding an amicable, lasting solution to the "Fulani herdsman" menace.

According to the President, "everybody in this country has been very disturbed by the activities of 'Fulani herdsmen'. We hear about the fights that have been going in different parts of the country Ashanti, Volta Region, Eastern Region. They are very disturbing. Therefore, finding a solution is one of the big concerns of my government."

President Akufo-Addo made this known on Wednesday 14th March, 2018, when a delegation from the National Council of Fulani Chiefs in Ghana paid a courtesy call on him at the Flagstaff House, in Accra.

Making reference to the work undertaken by the 2nd President of the 4th Republic, His Excellency John Agyekum Kufuor, and his government, in resolving the issue of the herdsmen, President Akufo-Addo lamented the discontinuation of the work by successive governments.

"But, we (NPP) are back, and we are determined to find a solution. We want to have a solution that will protect everybody, the herdsmen, their cattle and the communities in which they work. Because, if we do not have that understanding, having to work together becomes very difficult," the President said.

He, nonetheless, commended the Chiefs for their sense of responsibility, adding "you have shown yourselves to be Chiefs who are responsible for their people and their communities."

Continuing, President Akufo-Addo said he was "very encouraged by the offer of the taskforce, that we work together through your community and with the law enforcement agencies to make sure that anybody who wants to misbehave is appropriately dealt with as the law prescribes."

The President requested that some of the Chiefs from the Fulani National Council be made part of the Joint Committee, under the Ministry of Agriculture, that is seeing to the establishment of Kraals.

"This will ensure that we are a co-operative that can go about making sure that, in future, we have peace," he added.

On his part, Alhaji Idriss, spokesperson for the Council of Fulani Chiefs, expressed gratitude to the President for the invitation, which, according to them, is the first time any President has met the Chiefs and leadership of Fulanis in Ghana, to deliberate on issues that affect the security of Ghana.

He expressed worry about the loss of lives and properties in areas where there has been confrontations between Fulanis and the community.

He said the "continued occurrence and re-occurrence of the confrontations between nomadic herdsmen and crop farmers and other crimes that has been associated with Fulani and the Fulani ethnic groupings is giving us sleepless nights. These activities have portrayed the Fulani in a very negative light, thus, making it look like the Fulani community is in conflict with Mother Ghana. We do not support these blatantly criminal activities".

He, however, appreciated the effort thus far by government to ensure peaceful co-existence with Fulanis.

Concluding, the National Council of Fulani Chiefs pledged to co-operate with Government to ensure peaceful co-existence in Ghana.

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