Date: 2017-05-08

Fulani herdsmen encroaching on a parcel of land belonging to the University of Ilorin in Kwara State and allegedly using it for various unlawful activities have been given a seven-day ultimatum to vacate the property.

The university authorities said that the herdsmen's presence violated the laws establishing the institution. Unilorin Vice-Chancellor, Prof. AbdulGaniyu Ambali, handed down the ultimatum during a meeting he held with the representatives of the herdsmen and other stakeholders at the university auditorium.

Principal Officers of the university, traditional rulers of the neighbouring communities, the university security personnel, and other senior officials of the University attended the meeting.

Ambali explained that the meeting was called because the institution believed in dialogue and peaceful resolution of conflicts.

Giving a background to the meeting, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Management Services), Prof. Adedayo Abdulkareem, noted that acres of the university farmlands were being destroyed by grazing cattle.

He added that the unlawful entrance of unauthorised persons into the university premises had also become a source of worry to the institution's administrators.

Abdulkareem also frowned on the use of chemicals by the herdsmen for fishing illegally in the university's waters, describing it as "a dangerous development that could lead to water poisoning as the university relies on the water for treatment and supply to the campus".

The vice-chancellor on his part said, "People are building permanent structures on our land. When we went round, we counted about 16 structures. We want to use these lands for the purpose for which the university was established, hence the need for this meeting".

He disclosed that the university had reached agreements with some foreign collaborators to develop the land for research purposes.

Ambali pointed out that the illegal activities of the herdsmen on the campus would affect the over 30,000 students of the institution, calling on the herdsmen to cooperate and help the university to achieve its mission.

The vice-chancellor told them that one of the reasons for establishing the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine was to cater for the need of the herdsmen so that they would not have to be a source of conflict in their communities.

"Your activities are affecting our research works. Plants grown for research works are being destroyed, slowing down the pace of research work. We must ensure we do not hinder and frustrate each other as we are members of the same society", Prof. Ambali said.

Some of the Fulani herdsmen, who spoke at the meeting, thanked the Vice-Chancellor for the mature way he handled the situation, promising to assist the university to apprehend any of their members trespassing on the institution's land. They acknowledged the destruction of farms, assuring that they would leave whenever the university asked them to.

The Daudu of Fufu, Alhaji Baba Bello, who was present at the meeting, warned the herdsmen against the erection of permanent structures on the university's land, decrying the destruction of farms by the nomads and cautioning them against inviting strangers to live with them on the property. Bello called on the herdsmen to heed the call of the university to vacate the institution's land within the time given.