Aidoghie Paulinus, Abuja
Monday, August 12, 2019, was part of the two-day holiday set aside by the Federal Government to mark the Eid-el-Kabir. In commemorating the Muslim festival known as Eid Adha, the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia chose to celebrate it in a different way.
Early on Monday morning, precisely at 8am, the Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia, Dr Usra Hendra Harahap, a retired Air Vice Marshal in the Indonesian Air Force, alongside staff of the embassy, embarked on a journey to Ruga Fulani, a Fulani settlement located behind Lower Usuma Dam, for the celebration.
On arrival at the gate of Usuma Dam, one wondered what manner of a community the envoy was going to felicitate with as there was no clue to what was to later unfold. But as the journey progressed and the entourage drove into the premises of the dam, a stretch towards some farm settlements, it became clear why the embassy chose Ruga Fulani.
The community lacks basic social amenities such as pipe borne water, electricity, hospital, school, roads et cetera. However, the community welcomed the guests with open arms and immediately came together for photo shoot. After prayers from both sides (the Embassy of Indonesia and Ruga Fulani), everyone immediately settled down and participated in the consumption of Indonesia cuisines provided by the embassy. The embassy took a step further by donating two cows, cartons of noddles, milk, biscuits, soaps, juice and bags of rice to the inhabitants of Ruga Fulani.
Harahap said the visit to Ruga Fulani by the embassy was due to the condition of the inhabitants of the settlement, especially the Fulani as they do not have the luxury of those in the urban settlements. He also said the traditional life of the Fulani attracted the embassy to the settlement, saying that there was need to assist the settlers since there is a wide gap between the settlement and urban life. The envoy particularly called on the government to find a way to ameliorate the lives of the people who lack basic social amenities:
“Probably, I tried to encourage the government also to pay attention about the people here. We know that the way of life is much different because they try to become herders to drive their cows probably for weeks and months and not coming back as they leave their family here. It is a very hard work. That is why probably, we need to modify. It is not by going far away, to leave the family.”
The Indonesian Ambassador called on the Government of Nigeria to take a cue from the Indonesia model of cattle breeding adopted in time past, a situation whereby cattle grazing from one part of the country to another is no more in vogue. And to cap it all, Harahap is also of the opinion that the country needed regulation to distinguish between farm areas and areas meant for herders in the country.
The inhabitants of Ruga Fulani who were overwhelmed with happiness, expressed gratitude that the embassy decided to spend the Sallah holiday in the settlement and made their day special. Usman Ibrahim, a member of the Fulani community, thanked the ambassador, his spouse and the entire officials of the embassy for their generousity.
Ibrahim also offered prayers for the health of the ambassador, his success and the success of the entire embassy staff and prayed that Allah will guide the envoy in his responsibility as the Ambassador of Indonesia to Nigeria. He also prayed that Allah would give the ambassador this world and aljana firdaus, even as he prayed for peace in Nigeria and peace around the world.