Recently, it was reported that the house of a Fulani chief at Binaba in the Bawku West District of the Upper East Region had been burned down. This was according to the Upper East Regional Minister, Stephen Yakubu. He shared these concerns when he spoke to Mark Smith on A1 Radio’s Day Break Upper East Show today, June 1, 2023.
It would also be recalled that residents and opinion leaders of the Bongo-Soe community in the Bongo District of the Upper East Region asked Fulani settlers to leave their community within a month.
According to them, the Fulanis illegally occupied portions of their land and did not bring development; hence, they must leave within the given time or risk the consequences.
At a press conference held on April 6, 2023, in the community, the Bongo-Soe Community Association for Development (BONSCAD), indicated that the decision came as a result of the recent attack on one of their members by three people suspected to be Fulanis.
Meanwhile, in Sherigu, a community in the Bolgatanga Municipality, members of the community rose against the settler Fulani community, raising concerns about crimes perpetrated by the herdsmen against local community members.
In the Bawku West District, some community members stripped a young lady of Fulani descent naked in a response to the alleged rape of a community member by men from the Fulani community.
In a recent interview with Mark Smith on A1 Radio’s Day Break Upper East Show, the Upper East Regional Minister expressed worry about the growing conflicts and altercations between community members in different parts of the region against the Fulani community.
While admitting that there may be legitimate concerns from community members, Mr. Yakubu discouraged the practice of treating all members of the Fulani community as criminals.
“The problem we have is that, if an individual, let’s say a Fulani, does something, let us fetch the particular Fulani and deal with him or her, but to say that all Fulanis have done something, then this is where we get some problems. I am a Kusaasi man, imagine that I am in the Western Region with a couple of Kusaasi people and one Kusaasi person goes to do something and then they say, all Kusaasis leave this region, [would that be fair?]”
“This then becomes a human rights issue, and then you have international bodies coming in asking, why are you persecuting these Fulanis and things like that. We have to be very careful what we are doing.”
The Upper East Regional Minister explained that he had impressed upon the security agencies to do a better job of identifying the criminals and bringing them to justice.
Mr. Yakubu explained that information available to him suggests that many of the herders who have settled in the community are rearing animals that belong to members of the same communities they live in.
Source: A1radioonline.com|101.1MHz|Mark Kwasi Ahumah Smith|Ghana
