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Tamale, Ghana – The Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana (PFAG) has petitioned President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo over the continuous targeted rape and murder of women farmers in many parts of the country.
Members of PFAG, drawn from the 10 regional chapters of the Association, marched to the Northern Regional Coordinating Council on Tuesday April 24, 2018 to present a petition to the Deputy Northern Regional Minister Solomon Boar for onward presentation to President.
Reverend John Akaribo, a member of the PFAG and representative of the President of the Association who read the petition before presenting it to the minister, cited The over 50 women raised various concerns including the destruction of farmlands, killing and raping of women farmers, as some of the nagging concerns that required immediate attention.
The association’s leadership thus tasked government to consider the situation as a national security threat and permanently solve the problem.
Below is their petition to the President:
The President
Republic of Ghana
Flagstaff House
Accra
Dear Sir,
PETITION AGAINST DESTRUCTIVE ACTIVITIES OF FULANI HERDSMEN
1. The leadership and membership of the Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana (hereinafter referred to as “PFAG”) humbly presents this Petition for your due attention, consideration and redress.
2. The PFAG is an umbrella organisation of smallholder farmers with active representation in the ten (10) administrative regions of Ghana.
3. This Petition arises out of our recent meeting held on January 24, 2018, at Valley View University, Techiman, to deliberate on the menace of the Fulani Herdsmen so as to find a lasting solution to same.
4. The presentation of this Petition has become necessary because of the debilitating effect of the activities of the Fulani Herdsmen on the livelihoods of farmers and property alike in the communities in which the Herdsmen operate.
5. We are of the firm belief that due to years of neglect of duty bearers to find a lasting solution to the issue and thereby failing to protect lives and property of PFAG members from the onslaught of the Fulani Herdsmen, the Herdsmen have been emboldened to perpetuate their unlawful acts.
6. PFAG Members have over the years suffered many atrocities at the hands of the said Herdsmen including:
i. Dozens of women have been and are still being raped in several affected communities [a woman was beaten and raped on her farm at Kajelo in the Upper East region; and a number of women have been raped at Agogo in the Ashanti Region and Empaemu in the Eastern Region].
ii. Dozens of women have been either maimed or killed in series of unprovoked aggression [Pregnant woman burnt to death by Fulani Herdsmen at Saboba in the Northern Region; more than forty (40) inhabitants of Agogo have been killed and several injured; and two killed at Empaemu in the Eastern Region].
iii. Tonnes of harvested agricultural produce, on an annual basis, are burnt by Fulani Herdsmen [maize got burnt at Sape in the Northern Region].
iv. Farm lands with growing crops and plants grazed on by cattle of Fulani Herdsmen [vegetables grazed on at Paga in the Upper East Region; crops destroyed at Agogo and Empaemu].
v. Cattle use their horns to uproot cassava on the farms of our members in Ga East Municipality [Greater Accra Region].
vi. Fulani Herdsmen unlawfully use shea nuts to feed their cows with the lame excuse that the nuts are healthy for the cows to produce nutritious milk [Northern Region].
7. The issue of the Fulani Herdsmen has become an issue of food and income insecurity for hundreds of thousands of smallholder farmers in the affected Regions by reason of the aforesaid deliberate and wanton destruction of farmlands, raping of women and killings. The women farmers in particular bear the heavier brunt of this insecurity.
8. Governments over the years have done little to assuage the plight of PFAG members in the numerous reported incidents of unprovoked brutalities meted out to our members by the Fulani Herdsmen.
9. PFAG members are rapidly losing patience and confidence in the handling of the issue and that the said food and income insecurity of our members is likely to degenerate into an issue of national insecurity if the right steps are not taken to immediately address our aged-old concerns.
10. We are aware that some of the Fulani Herdsmen are citizens of Ghana while majority are believed to be foreign nationals.
11. We are also not oblivious of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Protocol on Free Movement of Persons and Goods, but the exercise of rights of ECOWAS citizens under this Protocol must be construed to mean the said individuals must conduct their affairs within the remit of the laws of the host Country.
12. Some of the activities of the Fulani Herdsmen, like rape and destruction of property (farm produce), constitute gross violation of the laws of the Republic of Ghana and hence they (Fulani Herdsmen) cannot legitimately find refuge in the said ECOWAS Protocol.
13. We therefore call on the President of the Republic of Ghana, as a matter of priority and urgency, to direct the National Security Coordinator through the National Security Minister, Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, and Regional Coordinating Councils of the affected Regions, to come up with a pragmatic and permanent solution to this intractable problem.
14. We very much count on your consideration and timely action.
Yours faithfully
National President
(Abdul Rahman Mohammed)
By Savannahnewsonline.com
