Twenty-five years ago Abdullahi Tijjani had a vision for Kuki, a village in the north of Nigeria he became chief of at age 14: "Hunger will become a thing of the past once we marry modern technologies and traditional farming," he told reporter David Hecht when they met in 1984 in the mud-brick structure he called his palace.
Nigeria's Deadly Land Clashes
Published January 21, 2009
Inhabitants of this village of mud houses in northern Nigeria say they woke December 12 to find 5,000 cattle chomping through their ripe crops. The grain farmers are mostly of the Hausa ethnic group while the cattle owners are Fulani nomads.
"We sent for the police and district head but in the meantime we couldn't just stand by and do nothing," said village representative Maiunguwa Garba. The dispute in this remote part of Katsina province was settled long before any law enforcement arrived.
The farmers said one Fulani fired an automatic weapon at them when they tried to protect their crops. But once his ammunition ran out the tide turned, according to Garba.
"Then we attacked the Fulani with sticks," said Garba, adding that three Fulani were killed. "We beat them to death," he said.
Project
Students at School Without Walls explore the tension between financial insecurity and nutritional needs.
A generation ago, the African nation of Nigeria launched a plan to embrace modern farming. But today the country is more dependent than ever on imported food.
Gateways
Project
Grantee
Fred de Sam Lazaro is director of the Project for Under-Told Stories at Saint Mary's University of Minnesota, a program that combines international journalism and teaching. He has served with The...
Grantee
David Hecht has reported from Africa for more than 20 years and in 1994, co-authored a book on contemporary Africa titled “Invisible Governance”. He has contributed to such publications as Fortune,...
