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| President Muhammadu Buhari & Prof. Wole Soyinka |
Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka,
said yesterday that herdsmen have declared war on Nigeria and urged President
Muhammadu Buhari to stop their activities without further evasiveness.
Soyinka, in a statement, entitled
‘’Impunity Rides Again’’, said the present administration should not make the
mistake its predecessor made that gave vent to escalation of ongoing Boko Haram
crisis in the North East.
His declaration came as the
Inspector General of Police, IGP, Ibrahim Idris, also, yesterday, apologised to
Benue people over his comments which described the killings in the state as fallout
of communal crisis and vowed to fish out the perpetrators and get them
prosecuted.
Similarly, the Indigenous People of
Biafra, equally condemned the killing of innocent citizens by the herdsmen in
the Middle Belt, pointing out that the nation had never witnessed this kind of
murder since the APC came to power in 2015.
It flayed alleged killing of youths
at Igweocha, Rivers State, by security agencies in the riverine areas in the
guise of looking for cult members, alleging that the killings were politically
motivated.
Army Deploys Troops
Meanwhile, the
Nigerian Army yesterday deployed special forces to Benue, Taraba and Nasarawa
states, following serial attacks on the states by herdsmen.
The Army in its twitter handle:
#HQNigerianArmy, said the forces were deployed to secure vulnerable communities
and prevent further attacks.
Soyinka
Soyinka’s statement read: ‘’It is
happening all over again. History is repeating itself and, alas, within such an
agonizingly short span of time. How often must we warn against the enervating
lure of appeasement in face of aggression and will to dominate! I do not
hesitate to draw attention to Volume III of my INTERVENTION Series, and to the
chapter on The Unappeasable Price of Appeasement.
‘’There is little to add, but
it does appear that even the tragically fulfilled warnings of the past, leave
no impression on leadership, not even when identical signs of impending cardiac
arrest loom over the nation. Boko Haram was still at that stage of putative
probes when cries of alarm emerged.
‘’Then
the fashion ideologues of society
deployed their distancing turns of phrase to rationalize what were so
obviously
discernable as an agenda of ruthless fundamentalism and internal
domination. Boko Haram was a product of social inequities, they preached
– one even
chortled: We stand for justice, so we are all Boko Haram!
‘’We warned that –
yes indeed – the inequities of society were indeed part of the story, but why
do you close your eyes against other, and more critical malfunctions of the
human mind, such as theocratic lunacy? Now it is happening again. The nation is
being smothered in Vaseline when the diagnosis is so clearly – cancer!
‘’We
have been here before – now, ‘before’ is back with a vengeance. President
Goodluck Jonathan refused to accept that marauders had carried off the nation’s
daughters; President Muhammed Buhari and his government – including his
Inspector-General of Police – in near identical denial, appear to believe that
killer herdsmen who strike again and again at will from one corner of the
nation to the other, are merely hot-tempered citizens whose scraps occasionally
degenerate into “communal clashes” – I believe I have summarized him
accurately.
‘’The marauders are naughty children who can be admonished,
paternalistically, into good neighbourly conduct. Sometimes of course, the
killers were also said to be non-Nigerians after all. The contradictions are
mind-boggling.
‘’First, the active policy of appeasement, then the language of
endorsement. El Rufai, Governor of Kaduna State, proudly announced that, on
assuming office, he had raised a peace committee and successfully traced the
herdsmen to locations outside Nigerian borders.
‘’He then made payments to them
from state coffers to cure them of their homicidal urge which, according to
these herdsmen, were reprisals for some ancient history and the loss of cattle
through rustling.
‘’The public was up in arms against this astonishing
revelation. I could only call to mind a statement by the same El Rufai after a
prior election which led to a rampage in parts of the nation, and cost even the
lives of National Youth Service Corps members .
‘’They were hunted down by
aggrieved mobs and even states had to organize rescue missions for their
citizens. Countering protests that the nation owed a special duty of protection
to her youth, especially those who are co-opted to serve the nation in any
capacity, El Rufai’s comment then was: No life is more important than another.
‘’Today, that statement needs to be adjusted, to read perhaps – apologies to
George Orwell: ‘All lives are equal, but a cow’s is more equal than others.’
This seems to be the government view, one that, overtly or by implication, is
being amplified through act and pronouncement, through clamorous absence, by
this administration.
‘’It appears to have infected even my good friend and
highly capable Minister, Audu Ogbeh, however insidiously. What else does one
make of his statements in an interview where he generously lays the blame for
ongoing killings everywhere but at the feet of the actual perpetrators! His
words, as carried by The Nation Newspapers:
“The inability of the government to
pay attention to herdsmen and cow farming, unlike other developed countries,
contributed to the killings.”
The Minister continued: “Over the years, we have
not done much to look seriously into the issue of livestock development in the
country…we may have done enough for the rice farmer, the cassava farmer, the
maize farmer, the cocoa farmer, but we haven’t done enough for herdsmen, and
that inability and omission on our part is resulting in the crisis we are
witnessing today.”
‘’No, no, not so, Audu! It is true that I called upon the
government a week ago to stop passing the buck over the petroleum situation.
‘’I assure you, however, that I never intended that a reverse policy should
lead to exonerating – or appearing to exonerate – mass killers, rapists and
economic saboteurs – saboteurs, since their conduct subverts the efforts of
others to economically secure their own existence, drives other producers off
their land in fear and terror.
‘’This promises the same plague of starvation
that afflicts zones of conflict all over this continent where liberally sown
landmines prevent farmers from venturing near their prime source, the farm,
often their only source of livelihood, and has created a whole population of
amputees.
‘’At least, those victims in Angola, Mozambique and other former war
theatres, mostly lived to tell the tale. These herdsmen, arrogant and
unconscionable, have adopted a scorched-earth policy, so that those other
producers – the cassava, cocoa, sorghum, rice etc farmers are brutally expelled
from farm and dwelling.
‘’Government neglect? You may not have intended it, but
you made it sound like the full story. I applaud the plans of your ministry, I
am in a position to know that much thought – and practical steps – have gone
into long term plans for bringing about the creation of ‘ranches’, ‘colonies’ –
whatever the name – including the special cultivation of fodder for animal feed
and so on and on.
‘’However, the present national outrage is over impunity. It
rejects the right of any set of people, for whatever reason, to take arms
against their fellow men and women, to acknowledge their exploits in boastful
and justifying accents and, in effect, promise more of the same as long as
their terms and demands are not met.
‘’In plain language, they have declared
war against the nation, and their weapon is undiluted terror. Why have they
been permitted to become a menace to the rest of us? That is the issue!
‘’Permit me to remind you that, early in 2016, an even more hideous massacre
was perpetrated by this same Murder Incorporated – that is, a numerical climax
to what had been a series across a number of Middle Belt and neighbouring
states, with Benue taking the brunt of the butchery.
‘’A peace meeting was
called, attended by the state government and security agencies of the nation,
including the Inspector General of Police. This group attended – according to
reports – with AK47s and other weapons of mass intimidation visible under their
garments.
‘’They were neither disarmed nor turned back. They freely admitted
the killings but justified them by claims that they had lost their cattle to
the host community. It is important to emphasize that none of their spokesmen
referred to any government neglect, such as refusal to pay subsidy for their cows
or failure to accord them the same facilities that had been extended to cassava
or millet farmers.
‘’Such are the monstrous beginnings of the culture of
impunity. We are reaping, yet again, the consequences of such tolerance of the
intolerable. Yes, there indeed the government is culpable, definitely guilty of
“looking the other way.” Indeed, it must be held complicit.
Just when is
terror?
‘’This question is now current, and justified: Just when is terror? I
am not aware that IPOB came anywhere close to this homicidal propensity and
will to dominance before it was declared a terrorist organization.
‘’The
international community rightly refused to go along with such an absurdity. For
the avoidance of doubt, let me state right here, and yet again, that IPOB leadership
is its own worst enemy.
‘’It repels public empathy, indeed, I suspect that it
deliberately cultivates an obnoxious image, especially among its internet
mouthers who make rational discourse impossible. However, as we pointed out at
the time, the conduct of that movement, even at its most extreme, could by no
means be reckoned as terrorism.
‘’By contrast, how do we categorize Myetti
Allah? How do we assess a mental state that cannot distinguish between a stolen
cow – which is always recoverable – and human life, which is not?
‘’Villages
have been depopulated far wider than those outside their operational zones can
conceive. They swoop on sleeping settlements, kill and strut. They glory in
their seeming supremacy.
‘’Cocoa farmers do not kill when there is a cocoa
blight. Rice farmers, cassava and tomato farmers do not burn. The herdsmen
cynically dredge up decades-old affronts – they did at the 2016 Benue “peace
meeting” to justify the killings of innocents in the present – These crimes are
treated like the norm.
‘’Once again, the nation is being massaged by specious
rationalisations while the rampage intensifies and the spread spirals out of
control. When we open the dailies tomorrow morning, there is certain to have
been a new body count, to be followed by the arrogant justification of Myetti
Allah.
‘’The warnings pile up, the distress signals have turned into a
prolonged howl of despair and rage. The answer is not to be found in pietistic
appeals to victims to avoid ‘hate language’ and divisive attributions.
‘’The
sustained, killing monologue of the herdsmen is what is at issue. It must be
curbed, decisively and without further evasiveness. Yes, Jonathan only saw
‘ghosts’ when Boko Haram was already excising swathes of territory from the
nation space and abducting school pupils. The ghosts of Jonathan seem poised to
haunt the tenure of Mohammed Buhari.”
Benue killings:
IGP apologises to Benue
people Meanwhile, the Inspector General of Police, IGP, Ibrahim Idris, has
apologised to Benue people for describing herdsmen’s killings in the state as a
fallout of communal crisis.
Addressing stakeholders of the state in Makurdi,
IGP Idris said his statement was misconceived and regrettable and urged
Nigerians to learn to be their brothers’ keepers.
The Police boss tendered the
apology after all those who spoke at the gathering lampooned him for the
statement he supposedly made shortly after briefing President Muhamnadu Buhari
on the Benue killings.
Tendering the apology, the IGP said: “Honestly, as a
person, I want to apologise for the misconception of the statement I made at a
press briefing in Abuja.
“What I tried to convey in that statement was that we
should live together and regard each other as our brothers’ keepers and also
ensure peaceful coexistence.
“Irrespective of where you come from, we should be
seen as one people who should live in peace and love one another.
“So, in
essence, my statement should not be seen or regarded as my support for anyone
but must be seen to be an advice for the greater unity of our country.’’
The
IGP assured that enough men and materials had been drafted to the state to stop
the killings and ensure the return of peace and order.
Herdsmen leaders still
walk freely on the streets — Ortom
Earlier, Governor Samuel Ortom had hinted that
over 73 bodies had so far been recovered from the crisis zones in Logo and Guma
local government areas, comprising mainly women and children.
He lamented that
the leadership of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore were still working the streets
free, despite masterminding the invasion and killings in the state.
Ortom said:
“If policemen can be killed just like that and their weapons taken away by
these people in Logo, where are we going to in this country? IGP, that is a
major challenge for you, I know that your weapons cannot be taken away just
like that, we expect that you must go after these people.
“Even in my council
ward, Nzorov in Guma, they attacked again but the soldiers repelled them. I
must state that Nigeria is passing through serious security challenges, I pray
we don’t get to the level that our people resort to self-defence, because when
people are not sanctioned for their lawlessness, anarchy and confusion would
set in and nobody will be safe.
“The grazing law we made in Benue State is for
the collective interest of all, irrespective of where you come from and it has
come to stay.”
The governor also announced the donation of five pick up vans to
the Police for the purpose of the operation and promised to avail security
agencies of all needed support to end the killings in the state.
It’s an agenda
— Tiv royal father
Also, the paramount ruler of Tiv tribe and Chairman of the
Benue State Council of Chiefs, His Majesty Professor James Ayatse, said the
killing in the state by herdsmen was not about grazing or the law but an
agenda.
He said: “Before this crisis, all the herdsmen in Gboko disappeared,
creating the impression that they had foreknowledge of the attacks and
killings.”
Speaking on behalf of the Civil Society Organization, CSO, Josephine
Habba, lamented that the attitude of President Buhari to the killings in Benue
had created an impression that the state was not part of the country.
“We must
sound it clear that if the government cannot protect us, we may resort to self
help and the constitution allows us the right to defend ourselves.
“If the
President cannot come here to sympathies with Benue people, he should also not
come to Benue to campaign for the 2019 election.”
Speaking on behalf of the
clergy, Reverend Father Solomon Mffa appealed to President Buhari to speak to
the conscience of his people since they understood each other, in order to put
a stop to the senseless killings of Nigerians and Benue people in particular.
“You know the language of the herdsmen, speak the language and ask them to stop
these killings.
Also teach these people to respect the sanctity of human
lives,’’ he said. Chief John Antenyi, the Odejo ‘K Apa and paramount ruler of
Apa local government, said the proposed establishment of cattle colonies was
another plot by herdsmen to colonise parts of the country.
He said: “We must
embrace ranching because it is the global practice and it will entrench
peaceful coexistence among the farmers and herders alike.
On his part, Speaker
of the State Assembly, Mr. Terkimbi Ikyange, said the grazing law in the state
passed through due process after the people had agitated for it, stressing that
all segments of the state, including herdsmen, also contributed to its making.
He vowed that the law would never be reversed.
IPOB berates military, police
over killings
Reacting to the killings, the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB,
said the country had never witnessed the senseless killings currently being
perpetrated by herdsmen in the Middle Belt.
It also condemned the alleged
killing of youths at Igweocha, Rivers State, by security agencies in the
riverine areas in the guise of looking for cult members, saying the killings
were politically motivated. IPOB, in a statement signed by the Media and
Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, said: “We are still wondering why the
Nigerian government could not send soldiers to the aid of its citizens in
Benue, Taraba, Kaduna and other states where Fulani herdsmen are rampaging and
massacring innocent citizens with impunity.
“We are certain that Aso Rock
merely ordered the Inspector General of Police to relocate police headquarters
in Abuja to Benue to provide cover for these murderous herdsmen and help them
consolidate their hold on new territories they are now occupying.
“The killing
of the innocent has become the norm under this present APC government, led by
Major General Buhari (President Muhammdu Buhari). More shocking is the fact
that world media like CNN, FOX, BBC, AL JAZEERA, NBC, ABC, among others, have
remained conspiratorially silent on these horror shows what played out in
predominantly Christian towns and villages.
