On this episode of My Hustle, The 77 Percent's Samson Adeleke joins Fulani herders with their cattle. He gets a taste of life on the move in northern Nigeria and discovers how the herders speak to their cattle.
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00:00Can you communicate with the cows?
00:01Yes.
00:02So how do you communicate with them?
00:08Today, our featured hustler is...
00:11My name is Zubir Muhammad Zubir, the secretary of Miyeti Ala Kura branch.
00:17I am a herder and I don't have any other job.
00:19This is my hustle.
00:22For many Fulani communities, cattle herding is not just a job.
00:27It is a time-honored tradition.
00:30You are welcome to another exciting episode of My Hustle.
00:41Jam, how are you?
00:43You wake up fine?
00:45Fine.
00:45What's this?
00:47You need this before you become a herder.
00:52Wow, so this is a gift, right?
00:55Yes.
00:56Can I dance with this like this too?
01:00Muhammad, you were born into this lifestyle.
01:03I want to know, what does it take to be a herder?
01:07If you want to be a herder, you have to be a hard-working man.
01:11Without fear, you cannot relent or give up.
01:15Without wasting our time, I want to get into action.
01:18I want to see how you take your cows out early in the morning for grazing.
01:22They bring them back.
01:23So is this something that you think I can learn today?
01:27I can teach you and if you believe it in your mind, you can learn it.
01:33Are you ready?
01:37Now we bring them to the water and when we are out,
01:39we are not coming back until 6 p.m, 5.30 p.m or 7 p.m.
01:51So why do you say?
01:54It is a commanding language and they hear it.
02:02It's very simple.
02:03To control this animal, all you need to do is...
02:08Let's go there.
02:10And this is what you do every day.
02:13Every day, this is how we'll be walking out with the herd like this.
02:17Then you said you have over 50 cows, right?
02:20Yes.
02:21And this is a small herd because we want to make it easier to control the cattle.
02:25We divide big herds by three or more.
02:28I divide it into three to four.
02:30Wow.
02:36Bro, you are a bologna and you are a rich man.
02:42Have you ever had any experience whereby your cows enter somebody's farm and there was argument?
02:47Yes.
02:48Yes, we do experience it.
02:52We come to the farmer, we estimate the damage and then we pay.
03:09I see that you can be able to rear cows.
03:13When you are taking the cows out, are you supposed to be at the front or you'll be at the back?
03:19We usually come out in twos.
03:20One at the front and one at the back.
03:22How do you make money from this also?
03:25We earn money from the cow milk we sell.
03:28And if we need more money, we take an animal to the market and then we sell it.
03:36Which of the techniques do you prefer?
03:38Taking the cows to the bush for grazing or using the modern techniques way of feeding the cows?
03:48Modern techniques would be better than herding.
03:53Because the herder boys could attend school.
03:56Lack of education is a big problem here.
04:03If the animals were kept in one place,
04:06they also could get good food, which would make them stronger.
04:14Fulani people always migrate in a very unique way.
04:17I mean, you have multiple families moving together with their livestock.
04:22So what's the secret behind this?
04:25This is the culture and tradition of the Fulani.
04:31When we are ready to move from one place to another,
04:34we move with our house, families, our cattle and everything.
04:41We move through forests and avoid the towns.
04:45If the night catches us on the way, we make camp and that is our home.
04:52When we reach our final destination, we build our houses.
05:04I'm enjoying the try.
05:11I have had an incredible time exploring Fulani culture and tradition.
05:17Ladies and gentlemen, keep watching DW the 77 percent.