Gadaffi v. Nigeria: Unending tales of sorrow, tears and blood

* Herdsmen attacks escalate in Benue, other states
* Govs proffer solution to end farmers, herdsmen clashes
It was the last mass they would ever attend on the face of the earth before they were mowed down by suspected herdsmen. From the sanctuary of God, they became guests in the mortuary. Tears and blood flowed like a brook. Protesting eyes blazed with fury.

But they were not enough to bring back the souls of Rev. Fathers Joseph Gor, Felix Tyolaha and 17 parishioners murdered in cold blood by the merchants of death at St. Ignatius Catholic Mission, Ukpo Ayar, Benue State during the week. Theirs is a story other Nigerians who have been victims of violent attacks by suspected herdsmen can relate to.

With communities leveled, children orphaned, parents widowed and thousands languishing in various camps across Nigeria owing to the terror unleashed on innocents by suspected herdsmen, the fear of herdsmen, for some Nigerians, has become the beginning of wisdom.

Piqued by the swelling statistics of Nigerians dispatched to early graves almost on a daily basis, the Senate and the House of Representatives had last week and during the week respectively called for the removal of service chiefs in the country over what they deem the failure of the Nigerian state to shield its citizens from the lethal weapons of suspected herdsmen.

Prior to the call for the removal of service chiefs , former Minister of Dfence, Gen. T.Y. Danjuma had accused the military of colluding with herdsmen to cut short the lives of Nigerians, calling on Nigerians to defend themselves.

In the same vein, just as the dust raised by Danjuma’s comment was settling, Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom expressed his frustration and apparent loss of faith in the military, admonishing Benue citizens to stone their attackers.

From Benue to Nasarawa, Nasarawa to Kogi, Adamawa to Taraba, the gory sight of the scale of havoc caused by suspected herdsmen has left a tale of sorrow, tears and blood in the mouths of Nigerians, The Daily Times gathered.

Speaking on why attacks by suspected herdsmen have assumed an alarming dimension, President Muhammadu Buhari had at the Abuja House in London, blamed it on the influx of trained gunmen by former President of Libya, Muammar Gadaffi from the Sahel.

His words: “The problem is even older than us. It has always been there, but now made worse by the influx on of gunmen from the Sahel region into different parts of West Africa sub-region. They were trained and armed by Muammar Gadaffi of Libya. ‘’

But some Nigerians would not let the comment of the president lie, while some have knocked the President for what they described as his unending blame game; a handful believe he’s just being misunderstood.

Baring his mind on the matter, Linus Okoroji, Chairman, Humanity Services Project, described the President’s statement as uncalled for and called for an overhaul of the nation’s security agencies.

He said, “I was embarrassed by such claim by my Change President in a foreign land. It was a negative speech to me. It also demonstrates how porous our borders and security system are. What are the responsibilities of several security outfits in Nigeria? The President must review the leadership of Nigerian security agencies.

“They are not working effectively. You may not know that from some quarters, that has been the agitation based on the fact that the Change President Buhari only considered his kinsmen, all from the northern section of the country for appointments in the national security, coupled with fear of domination of the South by the North and the lukewarm attitude of the President about the many killings going on all over the country. As a former military General, it is expected that he has the capacity to curtail the mess.’’

The Public Affairs commentator said the President’s comment is a shouting evidence of lack of information coordination between him and his appointees.

He further said, “The IGP and Defence Minister have come out to say the anti-grazing law caused the killings. It then beats my reality than imagination that the Chief Security Officer of Nigeria had to go off tangent with unsubstantiated statement or so it seems.’’

He continued: “As it appears, the Federal Government that should address the issues on ground appear to have lost fresh ideas, evidently lack sincerity an the will power to rout the enemies of our peace and sovereignty. Perhaps and as suggested by the lawmakers at a recent sitting, the security heads of this administration should be sacked.’’

Reacting to the outrage sparked by Buhari’s comment, the Senior Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity , Mr. Femi Adesina, berated his critics, saying the truth about the President’s comment is already in the public domain.

Adesina said, “The President talked about the influx of militia trained, armed and used by Gaddafi, who now dispersed into different countries, including possibly Nigeria, after the Libyan strongman’s death.

Are some people claiming ignorance of the development? So deep must be the ignorance of such people. Simple research will show them the Libyan influence on proliferation of small arms all over Africa, after Gaddafi’s death.”

On efforts of the military to stop killings by suspected herdsmen and what is expected of Nigerians, the Director of Defence Information, Brig. Gen. John Agim, urged Nigerians to provide timely information to the military and see the security problem bedeviling Nigeria as a problem of the country and not just the military.

Agim, on a live programme monitored in Lagos, said: “We have the Nigerian Immigration that is in charge of monitoring who comes in and goes out of the country. They may also need to up their game.

The problem of security is not only the problem of the military, it’s a problem of the country. The military, yes, we are all over the country, but there is no alternative to what the military is doing. If you look at the weapons these people carry, they are above what the police can contend.’’

Commenting on how members of the public can assist the military, Agim said: “If they see something that is abnormal around the environment, they should quickly report to security agents, and we will know how to take these people out. We can do it. A lot of them have been arrested. ”

Meanwhile, as part of measures to check what has been described by some Nigerians as alarming spate of killings by herdsmen, the National Economic Council (NEC), comprising 36 state governors and other public officials, has recommended a ban on the movement of herdsmen across the country.

The ban is expected to take effect in the five states that are worst hit -Benue, Taraba, Adamawa, Kaduna and Zamfara.

Addressing State House correspondents at the end of the last NEC meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Ebonyi State Governor, Dave Umahi, said the committee identified causes of the conflicts to include media perception, competition.

Umahi said: “In all, we agreed that movement is not profitable to the herdsmen because they value the milk from the cow even more than the cow itself.

“So, movement is not healthy for the cows as it dries up the meat and gives less than two litres of milk per cow per day. So, we condemn the issues of foreign invasion by foreign herdsmen and l am happy that the Federal Government is doing something about it.

“We also agreed that these movements have to stop and occasionally by those who have settled and integrated from other parts of the country like the middle belt, they sometimes go into conflicts with farmers.

So, in all we agreed that there is a more profitable and modern way of raising these cows which is by ranching. So, we have agreed that the states involved are going to give lands. Niger and Kaduna have given lands and Plateau is also giving land.

“Ranching is being practised in Mambila in Taraba State and they have success stories with regards to that.”