From Felix Ikem, Nsukka
Mrs Ekene Obayi is an unusual woman. This woman from Nguru Community in Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu State easily moves about in places that many men would avoid at all cost.
She operates a business that many men would flee from. Mrs. Obayi is a herdswoman, rearing cattle in her community in Enugu State.
In Nigeria, the particular people whose trade is cattle rearing are the Fulani. In every part of the country, they move about with their cattle, grazing wherever pasture could be found. Most people would become curious, however, when a married Igbo woman, a graduate, decides to take up cattle rearing as her calling.
Obayi, a graduate of Archaeology and Tourism from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), explained to the reporter how she went into the business.
Her words: “I learned and inherited cattle rearing from my husband’s family. The family has been into the business for so many years. My father-in law, who is now late, was the only man that was doing cow rearing in the whole of the community. My husband had taken over the business after his death, but he could not continue with the business due to a ghastly accident he had in December 2019.
“So, I had to revive and take over the business with the money I saved during my National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme.”
When asked if the business was stressful or otherwise, she shook her head.
“Initially, I thought it was going to be stressful but, to my greatest surprise, there was not much stress in it. Although when you look at the business from the outside, most people would think it is a dirty and stressful business but it has become a part of me. I do it with joy and enthusiasm, knowing full well that it is a profitable business.”
Howecer, she said the job was not without its challenges, especially for a woman: “People always stare at me in surprise when they see me moving about with my cows. At times, they would mistake me for a Hausa or Fulani woman, but I would quickly great them in our local dialect. Even in my community, they see me as doing something very much unusual because women are not known for such kind of animal rearing.
“One day, I took my cows to another community, some 15 kilometres away from my community. People there came out en masse to attack me, thinking that I was a Fulani woman. According to them, Fulani herdsmen have been destroying their farmlands. I told them in our dialect that I was not a Fulani woman but an Igbo. Some of them started asking me if I learnt the craft from Fulani people, because our people believe that it is only Fulani people that can rear cows very well,” she said.
There is also the belief in many quarters that herders operate with charms and at times behave like the animals. But she insisted that it’s all fallacy.
Said she: “I have been confronted with such questions before, but that is not true. You know people’s inability to communicate effectively with those Fulani herdsmen always leaves them to believe that, to rear cows very well, you must have charms to guard yourself against dangerous animals in the bush. Again, many people think that cow rearing is an exclusive business for men, but experience has proven that anybody can engage in that business.
“Also, it is believed that those who rear cows are naturally wicked, especially for allowing the animals to damage farmlands. But all this depends on individuals. My cows had once damaged people’s crops, and we resolved the issue amicably. This is because it was not done intentionally. Secondly, I equally have a farmland there. We take the cows gently to streams to drink water and to the grasses to eat but do not have problems with anybody.”
She also spoke on the unhealthy relationship between herders and farmers.
“The reason for that,” she explained, “is because these herdsmen do not understand our language and so may not know what we are telling them to do. Again, they go with a very large number of cows, which sometimes they find difficult to control. Lastly, they go with weapons such AK-47. Many times, they use it to rape, kill and attack people. Moreover, the Fulanis have had bad records of coordinated deadly attacks in some farm settlements in the South-East and other regions. So, with all this in mind, farmers always see them as enemies.
“Like any other animal rearing, cattle rearing is full of risks. Sometimes your cows will die. More so, it is very demanding as we take our cows around for grazing and drinking water. I don’t support the idea of RUGA, which the Federal Government of Nigeria is proposing. This is because it will lead to Fulani herdsmen colonising many areas to the detriment of the landowners.”
She appealed to the state government to enable her expand the business: “I need government’s financial support in the form of loans or grants. This will enable me to perfect my plan of bringing more women into the business. I want to train so many women both within and outside this state so that they will see that cow rearing is not an exclusive preserve of men.
“I want our women to embark on the business because it is lucrative. If we have so many men and women who are into the business, there will be no need for us to depend on Fulani herdsmen to buy cow either for domestic consumption or ceremonies.
“Right now, I have at least 35 cows, but I need to have at least 150. Nguru, my community, is so large that it can take 1,000 cows. Cow rearing is a capital-intensive business. I need like N20 million to boost my business.”