liable to their ‘master’. In Gushiegu for instance, a cattle owner may give a Fulani herder land to build and farm but can evict him therefrom if he ‘disobeys’ him, the master. Recent demands for herding labour attract herders. Ghanaian cattle owners look for ‘skilled’ Fulani labour to herd their cattle because of the lack of herding labour within Ghana where Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education (FCUBE) makes it compulsory for every child to go to school and also because of many Ghanaians’ lack of interest in such herding jobs.
In social categorization theory, prejudices and stereotypes become fixed and with time develop socially and cognitively in society (Dovidio et al. 2010). Beliefs and ideas about Fulani have been built over time and passed on from generation to generation. For instance, the perception that Fulani are violent and are not willing to adapt to modern life has long been held and is a commonplace in local community discourse. These mindset views have led individuals to develop prejudices, defined as ‘negative attitudes towards the entire group’ and thus have led to them being socially and cognitively categorized in the society (see also Bonilla-Silva 1997). Prejudicial attitudes may induce individuals to real actions, exclusion or discrimination against minorities (Bonilla-Silva 1997). In light of the data presented here, it can be assumed that the attitudes towards the Fulani in Ghana have in fact contributed to their subtle exclusion from society. Some communities, for instance, explicitly refuse to accommodate Fulani because of their image as violent, armed robbers and destructive. Eriksen (2010) therefore states that stereotypes can justify privileges and differences in access to a society’s resources; negative stereotypes in particular can be used to deny other groups’ access to resources.
The attitudes discussed above, although not overt official state policy, are implicitly and subtly embedded in local and national policies and lead to Fulani pastoralists’ exclusions in many spheres of the Ghanaian society. First of all, the state expulsions of Fulani pastoralists officially carried out by joint security forces called Operation Cow Leg (OCL) and Operation Livestock Solidarity have variously been carried out with the aim of getting out ‘alien Fulani out of Ghana.’ OCL is still used by the state especially when conflict between pastoral Fulani and local farmer communities such as in 1988/1989, 1998/1999, 2010 and 201539 increases in intensity.40 The state has often resorted to expulsion as if Fulani pastoralists were the only people culpable in these conflicts. Tonah (2002:22) states that the expulsions of Fulani show that ‘… they are still considered “foreigners” by the government and large parts of the population …’ The history of the Aliens Compliance Order in 1969 in Ghana which deported all foreigners without valid documents led to strings of retaliations especially from Nigeria. Fulani were equally affected.
These policies culminated in the promulgation of the ECOWAS Protocol on Free Movement of Persons41 which basically allows the free flow of persons, goods and services including Fulani with their cattle into all ECOWAS countries for 90 days without a visa. The state compliance with the protocol is seen by local farmers and community members as politically allowing ‘strangers’ (Fulani) to enter into their land, thereby resulting in the commission of offences against local farmers. The complaints often result in the state expulsion policies against the Fulani to satisfy the interests of local groups and communities. Despite several of these expulsions, Fulani pastoralists often return to Ghana. These expulsions tend to rather worsen farmer-herder relations (Tonah 2002) as antagonism between Fulani and local communities intensifies.
Fulani are also affected by eviction from lands and settlements in the communities where they have been living. Some have often suffered land confiscations and total eviction from communities in instances of conflicts with local farmers or when they are accuse