According to him, many Ghanaians are concerned about the increasing reports of the gross misconduct of some of the nomadic herdsmen in the country.Mr Asafu-Adjei made the call in a statement on the floor of Parliament, on the movement of Fulani Herdsmen from Agogo to the Sekyere Central District of the Ashanti region.

In recent times, the problem of Fulani Herdsmen had become critical following the shooting of three military personnel and a Policeman, who sustained serious injuries at Agogo on Monday, January 8, 2018 as well as the killing of two Police personnel at the Sekyere Afram Plains District on Thursday 11, 2018.      

Two farmers from Jeduako near Nsuta in the Sekyere Central District of the Ashanti Region were on Wednesday 24, January, 2018 shot dead by suspected nomadic herdsmen. The two are 60-year-old Kofi Owusu and 75-year-old Kwaku Anniboye, who were among a group of residents bent on chasing out the nomadic herdsmen from the town.

The residents angered by the growing number of herdsmen fleeing from Agogo and taking refuge in the area, armed themselves with machetes and clubs on a mission to attack and chase them out. Mr Asafu-Adjei also expressed concern about herdsmen, who were allowed to enter and live in Ghana at will, allegedly in the name of ECOWAS protocols on free movement of peoples, goods and livestock as “worrying”.

He said though the negative impact of local herds may appear small, the influx of nomadic livestock may predispose the country to drastic overgrazing and damage to soil that would be difficult to reverse.He said another negative effect of these nomadic cattle is that they constitute a potential means of introducing certain disease pathogens into livestock in Ghana.

Mr Asafu-Adjei also stated that the Fulani menace in the country poses a threat to agriculture, food security and national security since many farmers are unable to go to their farms and traders cannot bring the foodstuffs to the market.

He therefore charged the government to not only flush out the nomadic herdsmen, but that the security agencies should confiscate their illegal weapons and escort them out of the borders of the country. He said in a long-term strategy the government can provide identification for the herdsman with their country of origin, by painting their cattle with the country’s colour.

He said the specific location within the district should be allotted to their cattle for grazing as well as tagging the cattle of these herdsmen. Alhaji Mohammed Muntaka-Mubarak, the Minority Chief Whip called on the public not to lump all the herdsmen as Fulani since the nomadic herdsmen are from different countries.

He said herdsmen, who commit crime should be charged and taken through the judicial process rather than being attacked by a mob.