Most people relish a good meal with variety of assorted animal protein ? ranging from cow meat, goat meat, poultry, to assorted kinds of seafood either fresh or smoked.

Of all the proteins, it is believed that goat meat is a must have in meals because it cuts across various cultures and tribes in Nigeria. Meals like smoky jollof rice, stews, and soups such as ogbono, egusi, kukah, maiyan taushe, okro, goat meat pepper soup,nkwobi alongside several other delicacies, are not considered complete without the presence of the ever tasty goat meat.

Intrestingly, the Fulani people in northern Nigeria are known for their culture of abstaining from eating goat meat. Their belief for this long-standing tradition is that any Fulani who consumes goat meat will experience some health challenges including rashes, persistent stomach ache and even hernia.

Weekend Trust investigation across some northern states revealed that, despite modernisation, Fulani people in Jahun Local Government Area of Jigawa State, Jahunawa Fulani of Bauchi, Gombe and Kano states as well as several Fulani communities in Sokoto state are still observing this culture.

In Sokoto State, abstinence from eating goat meat is not restricted to only Fulani people, as other tribes, including Hausa, also do not eat goat meat for similar reasons. However, in Jahun, the abstinence depends on age. Teenagers of 18 years and below can eat goat meat without encountering any health issues, while people who are 19 years and above encounter stomach complications once they eat it.

History of Fulani abstinence from goat meat

According to Dr Muhammad Jabbi, a senior lecturer in the Department of History, Usmanu Dafodiyo University Sokoto, the tradition of abstinence from eating goat meat by Fulani people is traced back to the Jihad of Sheikh Usmanu Danfodiyo.

He said: ?What actually happened was that when Sheikh Danfodiyo set for the Jihad, he made a promise to God that if he succeeded in the Jihad, he would abandon one of his favourites as a sign of appreciation to God Almighty. So, after he won the Jihad and established an Islamic Empire, the late Danfodio chose to abstain from eating goat meat, being one of his favorite meats. So, Danfoiyo never ate goat meat again for the rest of his life.

?When his immediate disciples realised that the Sheikh was not eating goat, they too also abstained from it. And as time went on, Fulani people in various locations thought abstinence from goat meat was part of the teachings of Islam, hence, they abstained from it.

?This is how the practice started and some Fulani are still observing it not only in Sokoto State but in other parts of northern Nigeria.?

For some Fulani, goat meat causes stomach ache

Malama Hajara Muhammad, a cow milk seller in Dutse, the capital of Jigawa State, said: ?I don?t eat goat meat at all and if I mistakenly eat it, rashes will certainly appear all over my body, coupled with stomach ache and vomiting; that has been the case right from my childhood. In fact, it is a general belief among members of my family that once we eat goat meat, rashes will appear on our bodies.

?So, because of this strong belief, members of my family don?t eat goat meat. Thus, no matter how you prepare goat meat, I can identify it or differentiate it from the other types of meat.

?My husband is very understanding and he doesn?t force me to eat it,? she said.

Corroborating Hajara, Adamu Sambo of Jahunawa community in Bauchi metropolis said once an adult from the community eats goat meat, he/she will experience stomach ache followed by excessive vomit, adding that ?If care is not taken, such a person might end up with diarrhea. Until the person takes some herbs, the situation may lead to death.?

He, however, said teenagers in the community can eat goat meat without having any complications but anybody above 18 years cannot consume it, and if by chance he does, such a person will experience some health complications.

?On two occasions, I ate goat meat and encountered serious health problems. The first time was when I was coming from Nasarawa State. I ate goat meat at Akwanga and instantly my stomach began to ache. The second experience was when I ate it at Bauchi central market and ended up with a serious stomach ache. I had to rush home and take some herbs.?

Sambo added that outside Jahunawa community, their relatives in Jahun, Dukku and Gogel in Jigawa, Gombe and Kano states do not eat goat meat because of the health problems it poses to them.

?For the Jahunawa Fulani of Jigawa, goat meat causes Hernia?

Weekend Trust findings revealed that some Fulani from Jahun Local Government Area of Jigawa State believe that if they eat goat meat, their males will experience testicular diseases, precisely hernia (Kaba) or enlargement of the testicles, while the females will have rashes all over their bodies.

Malam Aminu Muhammad Jahun told Weekend Trust that he abstained from goat meat from childhood, noting that most of the Fulani in his community do not eat goat meat and if eaten, they will develop hernia.

?We only rear the goats in this community but we don?t eat the meat. We rather sell the goats. In fact, it is a standing order in our family that no one should bring goat meat to his family. It is an abomination in our village to eat goat meat.

?It is a practice we inherited from our fore-fathers and it is being preserved within the family. The tradition has been In practice for a very long time. Many of us cannot even tell you when this tradition started in our locality. We only grew up to see our fathers practicing it and we continued with it,? Muhammad concluded.

Goat meat causes rashes ? consumers?

Sokoto is one of the few states in northern Nigeria contributing to animal production. It?s estimated that the state has a total population of 2.9 million goats, 3.4 million cattle, 1.9 million sheep and 40,000 donkeys.

However, despite the immense contribution of the state to livestock production and the affection of its people for meat, most Fulani people in Sokoto do not eat goat meat. Weekend Trust observed that one cannot get cooked or roasted goat meat at the Suya joints or restaurants and hotels to buy within the state capital.

It is also unusual for the average Sokoto man to slaughter goats during festivities such as Sallah, naming and/or wedding ceremonies. Courtesy of this tradition, the majority of the goats produced in Sokoto are taken to the South West and neighbouring states of Kano, Katsina and Kaduna for domestic consumption.

Consequently, the few goats that are locally processed in the state capital are largely consumed by the Yoruba, Igbo and Egbira tribes. The impact of this long-standing tradition is more pronounced in the urban areas than in the rural areas of Sokoto State.

Malam Ibrahim Auwal, who deals in domestic animals at the Kofar Dundaye Livestock market in Sokoto, confirmed that most of the goats brought to the market are transported to other states for sale there, saying ?our people here in Sokoto do not eat goat meat.?

?More than 90 percent of the goats brought here are transported to the southern part of the country. Only 10 percent are sold within the state capital and the outskirts.?

Speaking to Weekend Trust on phone, Alhaji Habibu Musa, a butcher at the Sokoto Abattoir, said because of the low consumption of goat meat in Sokoto, only few goats are slaughtered at the abattoir, noting that ?In a day, we slaughter between 10 and 15 goats because very few people in the state capital eat goat meat.

?However, Fulani in the outskirts of Sokoto like Bodinga, Gwadabawa, Illela, Dundaye, Dange and other nearby villages and towns eat goat meat and nothing happens to them. So, the few goats we slaughter here are being taken to those places for consumption.?

A resident, Malam Bala Idris, said ?In our family, we don?t eat goat meat because it causes skin disease which we call Sameha(Rashes) in Hausa language. No member of my family eats goat meat. That?s how we grew up in the family and we?ve sustained the culture. My wife and children do not eat it,? he said.

?The culture is fading?

Lending his voice to the topic in focus, a top media executive who prefred to be anonymous said, he is aware of the Fulani cultural habits associated with abstaining from goat meat ,?I?m aware of such traditions, however, I think that culture is sort of disappearing in urn centres. Most times the goat is seen as a lowly animal, something people look down on compared to cow and ram meat, however, honestly it is changing. Personally, I eat goat meat. I think in the city people drop those traditional Fulani habits. This is what I know about Fulani and abstaining from goat meat.? He said.

Why we abstain from ?eating goat meat?

Kabiru Zubairu, a Fulani in his early thirties residing in Dukku, in Gombe State, shared his thoughts on the tradition of abstaining from goat meat. He explained, ?From my understanding, there are two reasons for this, first, it is rooted in Fulani tradition not to consume goat meat and second, there is a belief that eating goat meat may cause ailments, referred to as ?sa?aure? in Fulfulde, meaning it is perceived as unhealthy.

??This belief persists to the extent that offering goat meat as a sacrifice during Eid-El-Kabir, for instance, is still a subject of debate among the Fulani people. This suggests that the stigma around consuming goat meat remains strong. However, if there are Fulanis who now eat goat meat, it could be due to cultural influences in urban areas.?

Kabiru further noted that other social factors, such as inter-tribal marriages, might be contributing to the loosening of this tradition.

He added, ?Personally, I cannot recall ever eating goat meat, so I don?t know how it tastes. It?s possible I may have consumed it unknowingly, but there are others who can recognise the taste and would avoid it. This highlights that the stigma still holds, as younger generations might have grown up avoiding it altogether.?

Nazeef D. Adam, another Fulani man resident in Gombe, reflected on his growing up years in a community where goat meat was not consumed, leading to an ingrained adaptation of this tradition. He said, ?It?s a matter of tradition or belief. Some people claim that eating goat meat triggers their ?sa?aure.?

??However, I know there are establishments, such as restaurants, where customers are informed about the type of meat being served, and butchers often display the animal?s tail after slaughter to indicate the type of meat being sold. Some can identify goat meat at a glance. Personally, I don?t know anyone who fell ill after consuming it. People around me either eat goat meat without any issues or don?t eat it at all. Of course, some say it upsets their stomach, but there are Fulani people who do eat it. It?s similar to how some Fulani people avoid fish or milk.?

Nazeef added an intriguing perspective: ?There are Fulani individuals who don?t consume milk or fish. I know relatives who avoid milk, even powdered milk sold in sachets. Similarly, there are Fulanis who eat goat meat but avoid fish or milk. As for me, I don?t eat goat meat or fish, but I consume all types of milk. In the end, these preferences and traditions vary from person to person.?

Goat meat causes no harm to health

However, Malam Salisu Maiwanki, a Fulani from Shira Local Government Area of Bauchi State, eats goat meat and nothing happens to him. He told our correspondent that ?Members of my family eat goat meat and nothing happens to them. In fact, we eat all types of meat without experiencing any health challenges.?

Also, Usman Musa of Sama Road quarters in Sokoto State, said he eats goat meat and nothing happens to him, noting that only his mother doesn?t eat goat meat in his family.

?It?s only my mom that doesn?t eat goat meat in my family. My father and siblings eat goat meat and nothing happens to us. If my mother eats goat meat, rashes will appear on her body and it will take her several weeks before they will disappear,? he said.

Dr. Lamaran Mansur, a medical doctor at the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, said it was a misconception to say that goat meat causes harm to human health. ?This is a mere perception that is not scientifically proven worldwide. The perception has nothing to do with scientific findings. Some Fulani people believe that they got leprosy from goat meat, but scientifically it is not correct. The causes of leprosy disease are known and eating goat meat is not part of them. Instead, goat meat and anything goat, including its milk, contains high nutritional value.

?Goat meat contains high contents of protein and has low fats which are good for human health. In fact, it is very healthy meat. In the southern part of Nigeria, goat meat is the major source of protein. It contains high levels of B12, iron and calcium which are very essential to human health.

?In a nutshell, goat meat is good for humans and is not harmful. What Fulani people are saying about it is nothing but a mere perception that has not been scientifically proven anywhere in the world,? he concluded.

Weekend Trust observed that if the government at various levels can find a lasting solution to this allergic problem associated with goat meat, this perception can be changed and people can leverage on this to benefit from the huge nutritional value of goat meat to human beings. (Weekend Trust)

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