Joyi joyi ɗiɗii watta saffo, ɗun nyaamu fullo taara

This traditional proverb reflects the history of interaction between Fulani herdsmen and Hausa farmers, particularly regard to conflicts over grazing fields, corruption and exploitation that follows the judicial process of settling disputes. The herders are made to pay ten pounds for grazing on farmlands. It was also common practice for the court clerks to extort an additional ten pounds from the offending herdsman, five for the court clerk, five for the judge. This is exclusive of the stipulated ten pounds fine. So he ends up parting with twenty pounds instead of ten, because the five and five for the clerk and the judge are not recorded in the books, as such they do not make ten. In the supplementary clause of the postproverbial, there is a change that signify a new awareness on the exploitative nature of the judicial system, thus the reference to “only in the olden days”