MUSIC: ISOKAN (Unity) - Hajarat Adam, aka, “Hajara Fulani.

As we speak, there's a human disaster sweeping across the Western Coast of Africa due to brutal violence being perpetrated by Fulani cattle herdsmen against the indigenous farmers. The genesis of this unfortunate disaster originally emanated from Nigeria. The Fulani herdsmen, otherwise known as the Fulbe people, are historically nomadic people, who breed goats and cows - and are fond of moving from place to place in search of pastures for their herds. Lately, due to climatic change in the world (global warming - if you will) the mostly arid northern Nigeria has become too hot and dry, thus becoming unbearable for both the Fulani herdsmen and their cattle. The need for the cattle herders to move down south, which is more green and plush, has pitted them against the indigenous farmers whose crops are being fed to the Fulani's cattle and the farms destroyed in the process. In the ensuing confrontations, Fulani herdsmen who are usually armed with deadly weapons like the AK-47s, pump-action semi automatic guns, arrows & bows, and machetes kill, maim, kidnap for cash ransom, and rape farmers' wives and daughters. This phenomenon has become an albatross on the neck of President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria (who himself is a Fulani man); other places like Ghana, Ivory Coast, and Republic of Benin have tasted the bitter medicine of Fulani herdsmen's violence. Recently, in Benue state of Nigeria, more than 500 Agatu farmers were killed together with their wives and children by the suspected Fulani herdsmen. The Fulani herders' excuse for this heinous crime was that the Agatu folks triggered the violence by killing more than 10,000 of their livestock. Also, more recently, in the eastern Nigeria of Enugu state more than one hundred lives were lost when the Fulani herdsmen invaded and sacked about three mostly agrarian villages. This unfortunate incidence is rampant and has continued unabated.

Ms. Hajara Adam is a female griot singer and recording artist from Nigeria. She is a Fulani by birth; however, she herself has been through untoward hardship in life. At the tender age of 13, she was forced to marry a 65-year-old Fulani clan head in Kogi state of Nigeria. As a victim of child marriage and sexual abuse, she did not have the luxury of even common elementary education. Hajara can neither read nor write a word in English - the lingua franca (official language) of her country, Nigeria. Hajara has gone through life, so far, with this biting social disadvantage. At the age of 16, after two male children for the old Fulbe pedophile, she escaped into the heartland of Yorubaland, with no education or vocation, to begin a new life with her newfound freedom. After numerous abuses, penury, and near-death experiences, Hajara, however found solace and strength in her ability to sing and make good music. She is currently married to a Yoruba man. Her style of music is like unto Youssou N' Dour, Salif Keita, and Oumou Sangare, Ramata Diakite, Rokia Traore, and etc.

In order to stem this Herdsmen-Farmers' problem in the bud, Hajara quickly entered studio and worked tirelessly on a peace-inducing album. This album is entitled, “ISOKAN,” which means “Unity” in Yoruba language. Her intention, as a Fulani woman, is to promote a continued peaceful co-existence between her folks and other tribes in Nigeria, and West Africa - by extension. We, at NPC Records.Audioworks, are a small entity, however, we are trying our possible best to foment peace across Africa, and other places in the world. Thus, when Hajara informed us about her intent to promote peace by waxing an album for that purpose, we were ready to support her.

Hajara was of the opinion that if a vast piece of land is purchased and converted into a large ranch in choice areas across Nigeria for the Fulani herdsmen to rear or breed their cattle on, this will reduce the constant deadly confrontations between the farmers and herdsmen, and maybe, ultimately stop the spate of violence and killings going on right now across Nigeria and West Africa. To achieve this laudable project, Hajara has decided to use this album to rally people to the cause and eventually float an NGO, which would undertake the purchasing and building of ranches for the marauding Fulani cattle herders (her own people) to farm their cattle on.

In order to garner instant awareness for the project, please, assist us to make this possible by purchasing or downloading the album via BoomsPlay and other numerous digital distribution channels.