Blood Cattle On The Prowl -By Assaprogopwa Aaron

Gun wielding fulani herdsmen in Nigeria

Civility is an illusion, savagery is the default state of the ungodly.

Reared predominantly by nomadic ethnic Fulani herdsmen of northern Nigeria extraction and of course their kinsmen from the neighbouring states of Chad, Niger, Cameroon, Senegal and Mali amongst others; time was when grazing cattle freely roam the farmlands, villages and even streets of major towns and cities across Nigeria in a harmonious blend of mutually beneficial socio-economic interactions and relationship with both the environment and indigenous host communities.

Then, resources were abundantly available everywhere such as lush tropical vegetations and grasslands as well as vast open water courses for both human and cattle consumption. Thus man, cattle and the environment co-existed in a seamless and harmonious inter-relationship for many decades.
But while Nigerians yet bask in the euphoria of this near utopian state, complacency soon sets in amidst the uncertainty that the future holds for them.

Hence, over a prolong period of environmental neglect on the part of the government, poor planning and massive corruption leading to a sustained failure in good governance indicators; the Nigerian state witnessed a grossly paradoxical growth in which its population grew exponentially without a corresponding expansion of its capacity or resource base with a view to accommodating the needs of its fast growing population or at least maintaining some kind of progressive equilibrium in the system.

As a result therefore, the once abundantly available resources widely taken for granted became increasingly scarce and in some instances so severely depleted to an extent that practically not only tampered with but also ensured that the delicate balance of interaction and co-existence amongst the people, cattle and the environment was completely altered leading to flared up emotions.

That was on the one hand, on the other; an even more worrisome and nightmarish scenario insidiously unfolds.
An abnormal plague emanating from a strange and infectious strain of a virulent pathogen capable of inducing an unquenchable hunger and thirst for blood in its host was spreading quickly through the entire grazing cattle population across the country and reaching epidemic proportions already.
It is a strain of a pathogenic virus contrived in a solution of religious dogmatism and violent extremism which corrupts both flesh and perhaps the spirit, it ravages what is natural or human and instills a raging thirst in its victims. It is a transformative disease that makes its host extremely predatory.
Like the virulent virus that it is, this strain of pathogen is by its very nature so cold-blooded that it exists only to find a host and a carrier and reproduce as quickly as it can.

But unlike a virus, it has got political views, religious beliefs and cultural hang-ups. It also has got a concept of time and geography and of course absolute loyalty to its human inventors – the EVIL MASTERS.

A creation of the horrible will of the evil masters, this strain of pathogen has an intelligence and a cut-out itinerary. Its goal is the goal of the evil Masters – to target perceived enemies and utterly decimate them.

Although nobody knew precisely the source of this predatory strain, one thing was nonetheless certain; Nigerians were already dangerously living on the brink of a catastrophic invasion by a new strain of bloodthirsty cattle which more appropriately became known as the dreaded Blood Cattle. Unlike grazing cattle, the blood cattle are ruthless and voraciously bloodthirsty beasts yet appearing as grazing cattle.

However, unaware of the huge threat posed by the blood cattle which now roamed their farmlands and lurk around their neighbouhoods seemingly like in old times; a summarily complacent and clueless number of Nigerians being the host communities were suddenly awakened to the crude and tragic fate that await them albeit a little too late.

The rage had already begun and so was a massive wave of bloodletting as the predatory four-footed leeches typifying the blood cattle transverse the country from one community or state to another in their set quest as emissaries of death, sorrow and tears; ravaging communities and spilling the blood of innocent country men and women in cold blood.
By far the cruelest feature of this dark curse that is the blood cattle is that the bond of harmonious co -existence that once existed between the cattle owners and indigenous host communities across the country was suddenly corrupted into the need to begin to crave and consume the blood of indigenes of host communities where they graze.

Thus, far from their make-belief appearance as the grazing cattle they once were; the blood cattle have become strangely wild and adventurous in their mad quest and thirst for human blood. But not without the instigation of their masters who are no less corrupt blood sucking predators pretending to tame their raging pawns at day, only to ride on their backs at night in a bare-faced conspiracy driven by a desire for vengeance on perceived enemies, thereby unleashing terror on their host communities.

Rarely ever accosted yet well known in society, the blood cattle masters are among the most powerful elites of northern Nigeria. They are rich and very powerful influencers in the nation’s political corridors having always their stooges in key and strategic government positions.

Like the blood cattle, these feudalistic cattle landlords are by their very own nature vengeful and overly ambitious. Their religion is compulsive conquest by any means possible regardless of how cowardly. They are part of a global religious movement driven by a feudalistic agenda cum mission to employ every means possible including but not limited to cowardly attacks and pillages, political decoys and even the corrupt machinery of government to conquer, annexed and of course divide and rule their spoils.

Thus the blood cattle readily became a dreaded and an instant weapon in their hands with which they stealthily invade and plunder unsuspecting host communities through their bloody rages.

Presently, a fair number of perceived ‘enemy communities’ in various regions of the country are either currently under siege or already ravaged. A most recent case is the Numan/Demsa Invasion, in Adamawa state North East Nigeria.

Excerpt from the prelude to my novel (soon to be published) titled: BLOOD CATTLE ON THE PROWL.