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The tears of agony, the emotions and condolences that have poured as a result of the wanton killings in Benue State are expected but they cannot bring back to life one of those that were gruesomely murdered and are also still being murdered in various parts of the state. Not even the belated visit of President Muhammadu Buhari about three months after the dastardly acts by armed Fulani herdsmen can remedy the situation.
These were some of the home truth some Benue indigenes tried to tell the President when he eventually found the time to go there. They however, regretted that as a father figure, early and better response of the President could have done much to soothe their pain.
The President’s visit to Benue was also not holistic contrary to the earlier scheduled as he neither visited the Tor Tiv, James Ayatse, in his place in Gboko nor visited any of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs’) camps. He chose to hold a closed door meeting with highly selected stakeholders while only a few media houses were also allowed to cover the meeting. But as it is said that even the walls have ears, the President’s discussions in the bedchamber of his host, Governor Samuel Ortom, has since become a public knowledge. For instance, they properly tutored the President on the dangers of the proposed cattle colonies and the goodness of ranching.
It was gathered that some prominent indigenes of the state, including the governor himself, Senator George Akume, Tor Tiv and Paul Unongo gave the visiting president some piece of their mind, appealing to the conscience of the visitor.
Despite all they said, Buhari was said to have neither condoled the Benue people nor condemn the acts of terror by his kinsmen against the people, rather reiterated his earlier position that Fulani herdsmen should be tolerated.
It’s a pity that killers are allowed to go scot free – Governor Ortom
“Although concerted attacks on communities in the State commenced in 2011, between 2013 and 2017, Forty-Seven attacks were recorded and over 1,878 men, women and children were slaughtered in cold blood across 14 Local Government Areas of the State. Another 750 were seriously wounded while 200 were missing. Over 99,427 households were affected. We have lost an average of 47percent of Internally Generated Revenues due to attacks by armed herdsmen in the State.
“This underscores the problem between herdsmen and farmers. It was clear to us that increased population, shrinking arable land, global warming and desertification as well as the need to diversify the economy through farming, all make open grazing unattractive.
“Through consultations and research, we discovered that the global best practice for animal husbandry is ranching. Top countries in the global cattle business such as India, Brazil, USA, South Africa; Kenya and Zimbabwe, are known to practise ranching. It takes proper care of Livestock to ensure quality meat and dairy products and minimises cattle rustling. Your Excellency, this is the logic behind our popular Law, “Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law, 2017”.
“On 30th May, 2017, the Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore in a ‘World Press Conference’ held in Abuja, opposed the Ranching Law. They called on Fulani herders in all of West Africa to come into Benue to help them reclaim their land. In the same vein, Miyetti Allah Cattle Herders Association in their Press Conference declared that more blood will flow in Benue if the Ranching Law is not rescinded.
“Your Excellency, as a President that supports the Rule of Law, you will most certainly be offended by these Hate Speeches that may have crossed the red line. Your Excellency, how can a group claim responsibility for the killings that happened and they are going about scot free? How can a group make public these inciting and criminal declarations in an organised society and are not arrested by the police?
“Your Excellency, kindly order the immediate arrest and prosecution of the leadership of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore and Miyetti Cattle Breeders Association for carrying out their threats to attack Benue on account of the Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law, 2017.
“Recent Security Reports before Your Excellency, indicate that the Islamic State in West Africa (ISWA) is accomplice in the massacres in Benue State. If these Reports on Benue and other parts of the country are true, they have enormous implications for national security. There may be a need to strengthen the enforcement of the ECOWAS Protocol by directing the Nigeria Immigration Service to do the needful.”
Your reaction to the killings annoys us – Senator George Akume
“Your Excellency, you could recall that Senator David Mark was Senate President while Suswam was the Chief Security of the State, yet the Tiv people voted for you in 2015.
“We have no federal project in Benue State, Ortom does not make law, Benue people made the law, JS Tarka fought for the unity of our country Nigeria, Mr. President, the Tiv people are not happy about your reaction towards the killing of Tiv farmers by Fulani herdsman.”
The anti-open grazing law is dear to our heart – Tor Tiv, James Ayatse
“Mr. President I want to add an appeal as a Father. The anti-open grazing law, I want to appeal to Mr. President that if there is something that is dear to the heart of Benue people it is that law. I say it because I was here through the process and the agitation and the House of Assembly had to be occupied for days for them to pass that law. So it is really the people’s law and I want to passionately appeal to you to do everything possible to support the implementation of that law. It is not the Governor’s law”.
You are having a terrible country far from your dream – Paul Unongo
“Your Excellency, the land mass of your country is not increasing, the population is. If you do not effectively put an end to the phenomena of herdsmen militia and you take what is happening in North East in Borno, Yobe and you know what is happening you will discover you are having a terrible country very far from your dream.
“Opening Grazing Prohibition law was not made to be anti-Fulani. I am a product of a Fulani man from Kano and a Tiv man from Kwande and I am the leader of Tiv people. Mr. President your son, Ortom, is misunderstood by some of your security agents particularly the leader of the police. He is sincerely under objective threat and you will discover that if you do not support him and your security doesn’t support him he could well be hurt. Don’t allow that to happen on your watch.”
You did not respond to Benue as you did to Zamfara – Atom Kpera
“Mr. President, I know how swiftly you acted when it was reported to you that there was a problem of cattle rustlers in Zamfara State. You adorned yourself in a smart military uniform, a civil general, in fact, a field marshal and you went there and swiftly took action and I believe that you would have done the same when you came to know that Benue State was under threat.
“Your citizens here were being wiped off and I remember that you swiftly directed the Inspector General of Police to relocate to Benue and keep you well informed of everything that was going on here. Your Excellency, the IG did not do what you sent him. He stayed for less than twenty four hours in Benue State and relocated to Nasarawa and gave you the impression and he said it loudly several times that what he came and saw was a mere communal clash.
“I read in the papers a few days ago that you have other sources of intelligence that come to you not known by other people. I believe in you, therefore I will like you to please, when you leave here, have a second thought on what your IG reported to you and on which you swiftly acted setting up the exercise ‘Ayem A Kpatuma’.
“Our expectation Your Excellency was that when you sent this unit of additional force it was to come and relieve us of our very much troubled life, to see whether they can pursue the killers. The IG did not say that there were no killers because that was everywhere, he knew it but he failed to act according to the constitution which gives him powers. Your Excellency take a second look at that.”
We need your protection Mr. President – John Dyegh
“I am representing the eleven members of the green chambers and let me straight away say the Benue people are peace-loving. Let me as a legislator talk about the rule of law. We know the President respects laws. I want to say that some years ago when Zamfara made a law prohibiting the sale of alcohol, prostitution and all that in that state, the president then, General Olusegun Obasanjo was under pressure to stop that law from being implemented and he said publicly no; anybody that is against this law can go to court and that is civil.
“Today, after the killing of over eight hundred and seventy persons in Agatu and over sixteen villages were ransacked and people living outside their homes, the Benue people and all the legislators, the stakeholders came together and say no, this is too much, we can’t take this any longer and let have an arrangement where the herdsmen can live without killing us and we can still accommodate them and that is how the idea of ranching came about.
“I want to put records straight so that people will know that we didn’t just sit down and say look we are going to bring a law to bring ranching to this state. It came about as a result of our pains particularly pains from Agatu and that is how and why the stakeholders of Benue State came together and say let us have this law.
“Having said that, it is disgusting that a chief law enforcer; it is unfortunate that he is not here, the IGP, will stand up and say the law is unenforceable; that the killings in Benue are a result of this law. It is unfortunate. It is not good; I mean, that is making us not feel like Nigerians. Mr. President, with that statement and with the quietness of the Presidency, we are threatened. I feel threatened; we don’t feel we are Nigerians. We need your protection Mr. President.
“I want to emphasise that the chief law enforcer should not dabble into politics. He should confine himself to enforcing the law. It is not in his place, it is not in his place, it is not in his place. I say with emphasis it not in his place to make political statements and to make statements that look to us that he is backing a section and particularly the Fulani herdsmen. It is not correct. Mr. President we call on you to protect us.”
Laws do not precipitate violence – Lawrence Onoja
“Mr. President, your Governor Samuel Ortom is a very, very good governor. All he did was according to the wishes of his people. Why do countries or states make laws? We make laws to sanitise the society and to make sure there is justice. So for those who know the term, law cannot precipitate violence. So for those who say it is the law that precipitated the violence, perhaps they need to be more educated. That law was made to benefit farmers and herdsmen.”
You acted too late – Wilfred Anagbe
“I talk here as a religious leader and church leader. We are instruments in the hands of God for the service of peace, reconciliation and justice. We have listened to all those who have spoken here since the beginning and today is a day after the Presidential Committee on Farmers and Herdsmen came here on the 11th of February 2018 headed by the Governor of Ebonyi State. And I feel they must have related to you their findings and outcome.
“I believe you are here to seek peace and find solution but I know your coming to Benue is very important and good but if you had just said a word from Abuja, this problem would have been solved since. A word from you would have been enough. You didn’t need to take the pains to be here on this crisis note. One word would have been okay. You have done that before in many places.
“And here in August of 2017, we had a flood disaster in Benue and we saw the presence of Federal Government here with relief materials. Now January 2018 we had the blood disaster and we never heard a word. Mr. President, you are welcome to Benue and your words will be enough to do the damage control of what is happening but one thing we have to take home is that the two realities between the Tiv man and the Fulani man or the farmer and the cattle rearer cannot cohabit without proper arrangement in terms of ranching.”
We’ve so cried that our eyes no longer produce tears – Elizabeth Shuluwa
“Mr. President, I stand here today to talk on behalf of the women, children and the aged of Benue State. Ours is a cry Mr. President that we have cried since the eve of New Year, the black New Year in Benue State 2018. On that day Mr. President, your mothers and women and daughters and children and the aged of Benue State woke up to a horrendous news, news of maiming and killings by marauding herdsmen and they just didn’t kill the men that were like them, they killed my sisters, pregnant women, defenseless old men and Mr. President if you were not a soldier I would have said you are in that category because you are also in your seventies and we categorise them as old sir. They were among those killed, butchered, their eyes gouged out. Mr. President, we cried, we wailed.
“As I speak on behalf of my sisters, the women, children and the aged of Benue state, I no longer have that watery substance that comes out when one cries anymore because we have cried for two-and-a-half months, we have been crying. No day goes by without you hearing that they are bringing dead people from Logo, from Guma, from Okpokwu, from Kwande, from Katsina Ala, from the outskirt of Makurdi Local Government and the list continues sir and we are the ones who cry. We have shouted, we have wailed but of course now we don’t have the watery substance to come out so that you can see our unhappiness and displeasure.
“I want to just tell you one more thing that made me cry this morning as I was coming to the People’s House. I saw scores of soldiers, policemen, civil defence personnel and other paramilitary agencies standing all over Makurdi and I said to myself if these people as they are today were in Guma, in Okpokwu, in Agatu, in Kwande, in Logo, in Katsina Ala and in other places, would the genocide have taken place? It wouldn’t have taken place.”
Let the IDPs return to their ancestral homes – Edward Ujege
“Your Excellency Mr. President, on behalf of the three main socio-cultural associations namely: the Mzough u Tiv, Idoma National Forum and the Ominiyi Igede, we want to tell you one thing. You may not be unaware of the wanton killings of our people and destruction of property that had lingered for over fifteen years in Benue State.
“As a result of the killings, the people of the state led by the three socio-cultural organisations demanded the state government to put in place necessary measures that will stop the carnage. We are also grateful to the State House of Assembly. Therefore, we are informing you that this law was not made by His Excellency, Samuel Ortom who heeded to the demand of our people to assent to the law passed by the Benue State House after.
“Your Excellency, we are asking for the following things: That the Federal Government should openly declare its support for the anti-open grazing law enacted by Benue State. We are requesting peace and security for the Internally Displaced so that they can return to their ancestral homes for the children to start going to school. We are asking that adequate compensation should be given to victims of the crisis which should be rehabilitated with communities restructured without further delay.”
Our situation in Benue is pathetic -Terlumun Akputu
“I come here in representative capacity as the chairman of more than two million peasant farmers in Benue State. I am standing before you with a heavy heart being a victim myself along with my members. I want to affirm at this gathering that President Mohammadu Buhari is from our constituency. Never since 1999 especially has a President been elected as a direct product of the masses, peasant farmers, artisans, market women and market men.
“Our surprise is that immediately the President assumed office, the elite gathered in Abuja and started implementing an agenda against we the farmers. First all, the government allowed international cattle merchants to smuggle in all kinds of sophisticated weapons to direct their hirelings to come down to the Benue valley to kill us and to destroy our property and sack us from our ancestral homes. Mr. President, this is completely unacceptable.
“Mr. President, the situation in Benue State now is that more than one hundred and sixty thousand of my members are refugees under the rain and sunshine. Now of this figure, more than forty thousand are vulnerable children and women. The danger is that our children are not going to school. The danger is that the children of the poor, the children of members of this your constituency, stand the risk of not competing with their peers anywhere in the world for the next fifty years.
“Your Excellency, we want to request at this meeting that you give a presidential order for the military and other forms of security and read a riot act so that we the IDPs can go back to our ancestral homes. Secondly, we request that you put in place programmes that will promote agriculture. We cannot take our farm produce to the market due to complete breakdown of the road infrastructure. As I talk to you, there is no single irrigation project for farming in the state. How can we be the food basket of the nation without one single dam for dry season farming?”
There’s too much bloodshed in Nigeria; you have to act fast – Akpen Leva, CAN chairman
“Mr. President, in 2015, we mobilised the Christian community in Benue State against our brother to vote for you. When you were sick, we organised a three-day prayer and fasting service in conjunction with Benue State Government for your quick recovery. We thank God that you are here today looking very healthy and active to pilot the affairs of the nation.
“Mr. President, the church has asked me to advise you and Nigerians. There is too much bloodshed in Nigeria. You have to act fast. Please strengthen your security apparatus before it is too late. Secondly, because of the killings, more than 500 churches in Benue have been destroyed. One wonders whether is only for grazing? We are demanding for adequate compensation to enable us build these churches back and other infrastructure. Also, as a church, we believe that the only thing that can bring peace between farmers and herdsmen is the open grazing prohibition and ranches establishment law.”
JAMES KWEN, MAKURDI
