White Cattle
on Sabo -Oke (Nigeria), 26/Sep/2011 07:30, 34 days ago
White cattleWhen I come to compile my list of‘Things I will miss aboutNigeria’, the sight of a Fulani herder with his loyal bunch of gorgeous whitecattle will surely emerge near the top. I am continually thrilled to see them,ambling across the road or grazing in the undergrowth nearby, or seen in thedistance on the fringes of a village orbeneath a cluster of trees ; alwayscalm, peaceful, silent, undemanding – at least, when I have seen them;perhaps they are just beingaccommodating to the camera, trying to create a good impression and when my bushas passed by or under cover of night they make a horrendous din and startstampeding around the place, stealing each other’s patch of grass and irritating the hell out of theirlong-suffering herdsman– a bit like the performance of some people I couldmention – but won’t! And when I come to draw up my list of what I have learnedfrom my Nigerian experience, I will surely reflect on the benefits of a morepeaceful pace of life closer to the rhythms of nature as illustrated by thehumility of the herdsman as he turns away from the roadside and heads into thebush as night descends. Where does hego? Where will he sleep and will he eat tonight?Not that I mean to romanticize his existence– it must be anincredibly hard, insecure and franklyboring life, at least from my perspective as a person who has possessions thatare valued and who really needs to feel the assurances, security and somesatisfaction in life, for at least a some months ahead.Does the Fulani herder– man or boy – gain satisfaction fromspending days in the bush with a bunch of cows, warding off - what, wild animals, vagrants, cattlerustlers, the bovine-registration police seeking bribe or a tub of yoghurt,swaying mini-busses travelling at breakneck speed (possibly literally!) and threatening to leave the road at the nextpothole?What does he think about? Does he have his dreams too? Anddo they lie on the land or in a town or distant place? Clearly he has hisresponsibilities, but presumably he does not have to concern himself overa rising council tax bill, achieving attainment targets, reviewing his performance over the previous yearand setting goals for the next one. I guess a visit at short notice from Ofcowwith the threat of being declared a‘failing herdsman’ and having his herdtaken over by a more experienced and skilled practitioner, is an unlikelyoccurrence.But I guess he has his own life-pressures that are just astroublesome to him as ours are to us.I do love seeing those cattle though!