Yola — Amid deadly clashes with farmers and expulsion orders by some state authorities, thousands of nomadic fulani who do not know where to turn to have continued to storm Adamawa state in search of grazing land.

Already no fewer than ten thousands Fulani nomads comprising of Sullubawa from Kano, Zaria, Katsina, Zamfara and Sokoto as well as Danboa in Borno state have settled down at Dantasa village with their animals.

This was discovered by journalists covering government house Yola while on assessment tour to assess projects being executed by the state and its 21 local government councils.

When the present administration in Adamawa came on board in 2007, Governor Murtala Nyako conceived the idea of constructing earth dams across the state for hydro electricity and irrigation purposes.

To this end, six dams were earmarked for construction among which are the two dams located at Dantasa village in Guyaku district of Gombi local government area.

One of their leaders, Alhaji Muhammadu Abubakar first revealed their ordeals in some parts of the country.

"We settled in Damboa in Borno State like many other Fulani nomads, running away from desertification and drought in the far North where we had little food for our herds, but unfortunately we were expelled by local authorities. And if every community we moved to treated us like this, I don't know where we will turn to. Our herds, which is our source of existence, will be ruined and we will in turn be ruined," he said.

Another nomad, Bello Jabbe told the visiting journalists that Nomads expelled from Borno State had travelled 1,000km eastwards from Zamfara State in search of grazing land.

While promising to abide by the laws of the land as well as maintain a peaceful atmosphere the "settlers" pleaded with the Adamawa State government to establish a diary factory for processing of the milk extracted from their animals and also to establish schools for their children for nomadic education.

"We need government assistance to compliment our efforts in nation building, though Adamawa State government has been helping us, we don't have problems with our host communities and we assured you that the tempo will be sustained," he said.

The nomads similarly called on other state governors in the country to emulate leadership qualities of Governor Murtala Nyako by establishing nomadic settlement programmes.

Their wives and children could be seen busy pounding grains in the mortar to prepare the lunch they would have while their husbands were out with the animals for grazing.

When contacted, the chairman of Gombi local government council Alhaji Rufa'i Umar confirmed that the people of the area are living in a peaceful atmosphere with their host communities.

He said, "They are more than 10,000 households and since their arrival we didn't encounter any problem with these people and government is likely to improve their living standard as long as they will abide by laws of the land".

Tension linked to pastoralist-farmer disputes have been mounting in recent months in several states across the country and this led local authorities to expel 700 pastoralists from Borno state in May 2009 and 2,000 from Plateau in April.

An expert says effects of climate change are partly to blame for the disputes. Northern nomadic communities are increasingly moving southwards as climate change turns their grazing land into desert.

Kabiru Yammama, environmental consultant with a Nigerian NGO, Green Shield of Nations, told newsmen that, "'About 35 percent of land that was cultivable 50 years ago is now desert in 11 of Nigeria's northernmost states; namely, Borno, Bauchi, Gombe, Adamawa, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Yobe, Zamfara, Sokoto and Kebbi.

According to Yammama, the livelihood of some 15 million pastoralists in northern Nigeria is threatened by decreasing access to water and pasture shortages linked to climate change.

Similarly, according to a 2008 National Meteorological Agency study, the rainy season in northern Nigeria has dropped to an average of 120 days down from 150 days 30 years ago, cutting crop yields by 20 percent.

In a related development, inhabitants of Gombi local government area are now living in fear of uncertainty as a result of devastation caused by gully erosion. Already residential areas have been pulled down by the effect of the erosion thereby forcing many home owners to evacuate their families and belongings to safe areas.

Chairman of the council Rufa'i Umar who raised the alarm while conducting journalists round the affected areas attributed the level of devastation to heavy down pour being experienced in the area. He explained that the local government headquarters appear to be worst affected as a result of the effect of water falling from the hill tops whenever it rains.