Agogo Communities Reject Fulani Herdsmen

The chiefs and people of Agogo and its environs say they are fed up with the continued existence of Fulani herdsmen, amid unbearable harassment in the area, and have stressed the need for the nomads to leave their land. According to Nana Amoako and Nana Kwame Nti, Akyeamehene and Krontihene of Agogo respectively, the Fulanis have AK 47s and other strange ammunition in their possession, allowing them to take the law into their hands. �They attack the residents and do all manner of unscrupulous things to the citizenry, thus compelling most farmers, particularly women, to abandon their farms for fear of their lives,� the chiefs complained during a visit by the Ashanti Regional Police Commander, DCOP Kofi Boakye, who was on a problem-solving mission to ensure that there is a lasting peace and co-existence among residents in the Agogo area. The community leaders complained that the herdsmen use their cattle to pollute available sources of drinking water, farm produce and foodstuff with impunity, because they have deadly weapons which they use against the residents. They lamented that their presence in the area with the cattle had brought untold hardships among the communities and the people, in that they have been deprived of their sources of income and livelihoods. The chiefs indicated that the area was now a safe haven for Fulani herdsmen, as more and more keep coming from the Eastern Region and Afram plains area, which situation, they considered a threat on the lives of residents and generations to come. They have, therefore, pleaded with the Regional Police Commander and the Ashanti Regional Minister, as head of the Regional Security Council (REGSEC), to intervene and ensure that all Fulani and their cattle leave the land for peace to prevail. Ali Musah, leader of the local Fulanis, denied being the cause of harassment of the residents, accusing Fulani strangers, who are now trooping in from the Eastern Region and Afram Plains, as well as Niger and Mali, and pleaded with Nananom to collaborate with them in identifying the incoming ones to enable them flush them out. DCOP Kofi Boakye, who had different meetings with the residents of Agogo and its environs and the leadership of the fulani at Agogo, said he and the IGP had a lot of reports about the happenings between the citizens and the fulani in the area, and will not sit down for things to get out of hand for the government to waste more resources in resolving conflicts. He pleaded with both parties to team up in identifying the problems, and resolve them before it is too late, and charged the so-called local Fulani to expose the strangers to Nananom.