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Last week, as in previous attacks, Benue state, widely regarded as the food basket of the nation, was under siege, which at the end, about 200 souls dead in the hands of Fulani herdsmen at Yelwata village.
The attack occured penultimate Saturday, but it took five days for the Tinubu administration to make a statement, even when it was convenient for it to condemn the Israel’s attack on Iran.
Anger boiled. Nigerians were outraged, and disappointed at the vile way political consideration has vitiated taking drastic action on the pogrom going on in Benue and Plateau.
Many analysts, who spoke to Business Hallmark, were incensed and tired of the usual ritualistic rhetoric of condemnation from government urging peace, and “government is on top of it”, ” we will fish out the killers” mantras, which no longer resonate with the traumatized people of Benue, Plateau and other areas where herders have a field day killing innocent Nigerians.
Dr. Abiodun Oluwafemi, a political scientist in a chat with this medium summed up the national mood and feelings of Nigerians.
“These politicians, including those at the top echelon of decision making in the country, have no regards for lives of Nigerians. What matters to them is winning elections, and as long as they believe taking certain measures will have ramifications for their ambition negatively, they will not take the decisions. Lives of the people mean nothing to them. That’s exactly the matter with Fulani herdsmen killings, the presidency for political reasons is not ready to do the needful.”
Getting Increasingly Brazen
As if to lend credence to government’s seeming helplessness, two days after President Tinubu’s visit to Benue with all the sabre-rattling and marching order to security chiefs to fish out perpetrators of the death of 200 innocent people, the herders as if to mock the ‘ resolve’ of President Tinubu’s administration struck again in a symbolic way, as if to pass a message of power, in the home town of George Akume, Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
In what appeared to be a daring move and an attempt to call the bluff of federal government’s top shots strategizing to end the protracted insurgency in the North, especially Benue, the herdsmen attacked Wannune community in Tarka Local Government Area of Benue State.
Wannune is the hometown of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and a former governor of Benue State, Senator George Akume. The SGF is also a former Senator and an erstwhile minister for Special Duties.
Business Hallmark’s checks revealed that the suspected herdsmen struck in the community last Friday midnight, leaving many dead and several others injured.
“Everyone is running into the bushes for safety. Please let Nigerians pray for us. The herdsmen are ravaging the environment now,” A youth corps member serving in the area was quoted by Dailypost, a Nigerian daily, to have said.
Recall that Akume spoke hours after Tinubu’s visit to the state, assuring residents of the state of government’s swift intervention to end the lingering state of insecurity in Benue State.
The President had vowed during the visit to rise to the occasion while immediately directing the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr. Kayode Egbetokun, and the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa, to arrest those behind the killings.
Rather than government, it appears the herders rose to the occasion and dared government.
A War of Conquest
Business Hallmark learnt that farmers in the border communities of Benue and Nasarawa have continued to flee in droves following the recent attacks that have claimed many lives.
Retired Gen. David Mark, former Senate President, said in the wake of the attack that his people’s patience was running thin, hinting at the imperative of self defence since government, according to him, has failed to defend the people.
Dr. Agboola Abanikanda, an historian, told Business Hallmark that what is important is for government to stop playing the ostrich and confront the reality.
“I hate to hear government saying it’s a clash over grazing land between herders and farmers. This is ethnic cleansing, the Fulani herdsmen are merely foot soldiers in a grand plan to take out the Middle Belt occupy their land, and move to the South. It’s about a worldview, a totalitarian worldview that sees only Islam and Fulani imperialism.”
“Remember, this new revival was not accidental; it was, according to intelligence brought on by ideologues and Fulani irredentists around Buhari, during Jonathan’s final months in office when they thought the election would not be in their favour. Nigeria is a nation of denial. Southern leaders are cowards.”
Following the killings, thousands of irate protesters penultimate Sunday blocked the popular food basket roundabout in Wurukum, Makurdi, as early as 7am with fresh palm fronds in their hands, singing solidarity songs and appealing to the federal and state governments to end the killing of innocent people.
It was learned that the protesters resisted all pleas by Benue State Police Commissioner Ifeanyi Emenari and Deputy Governor Samuel Ode to vacate the roundabout and allow the free flow of traffic.
The arrival of Mr. Daniel Otse, aka the VeryDarkMan, VDM, brought calmness among the protesters, who struggled forward to catch a glimpse of him.
Addressing the angry youths on Bank Road, VDM appealed to them to open the barricaded roads to allow free traffic flow and put out the bonfires on major highways.
He told the protesters: “Gone are the days when youths embark on destructive protests. On my way here, I saw what I had never seen in my life. I saw children burnt to ashes, a lot of children, a lot of people, barns of crops, farms burnt in Yelewata, and we have a government?
“It is a pity for a government to allow foreigners come into the country and kill its people this way.” The police tear-gassed protesters in other parts of Makurdi.
Buck Passing
President Tinubu had also charged the governor of Benue State to convene reconciliation meetings and dialogue among the warring parties to end the incessant bloodshed and bring lasting peace and harmonious coexistence between farmers, herders, and communities.
“Political and community leaders in Benue State must act responsibly and avoid inflammatory utterances that could further increase tensions and killings. This is the time for Governor Alia to act as a statesman and immediately lead the process of dialogue and reconciliation that will bring peace to Benue. Our people must live in peace, and it is possible when leaders across the divides work together in harmony and differences are identified and addressed with fairness, openness and justice.”
Governor Hyacinth Alia of Benue State had condemned the attack and killing of innocent citizens at Yelewata by suspected criminal herders.
In faraway Rome, Italy, Pope Leo XIV had led prayers for victims of the massacre of innocent souls, particularly in rural Christian communities in Nigeria’s Benue State, by suspected armed herdsmen.
This was contained on the X handle of the Vatican News under the caption: “Pope Leo prays for the victims of a ‘terrible massacre’ in Benue State, Nigeria.
The news item read in part: “Around 200 people were ‘brutally killed’ in Yelwata, in the Guma Local Government Area on the night of the 13th/14th June, most of them internally displaced persons ‘sheltered by the local Catholic mission.
“Speaking just before delivering the Sunday Angelus prayer, the Pope prayed for ‘security, justice, and peace’ in Nigeria, adding that he was thinking in particular of the ‘rural Christian communities of the Benue State who have been relentless victims of violence.”
Responding to the attack, Amnesty International Nigeria called on Nigerian authorities to immediately end the almost daily bloodshed in Benue State and bring the actual perpetrators to Justice.
Many people also criticized Benue state government for turning what ought to be a solemn, soul-searching visit of President Tinubu into a carnival, bacchanal display of apathy as seen in the lining up of young school children on the streets to welcome the president amidst torrential rain.
Many also frowned at the inability of the President to visit Yelewata, the scene of the gory killings to empathize with the bereavedMany also frowned at the inability of the President to visit Yelewata, the scene of the gory killings to empathize with the bereaved.
