By: Ifeanyi Izeze<\/p>\n
Did PresidentMohammadu Buhari actually say in Jos during his visit that it
\nwas unfair forpeople to accuse him of not doing enough to check the
\nmarauding killer herdsmenbecause he looks like them (Fulani herdsmen)?\u00a0If
\nhe did, then it is very unfortunate that this country has entered\u201cone
\nchance\u201d bus.<\/p>\n
Hear our president as reported: \u201cBut thepresent herders, I am told,
\ncarries AK47 and people are even blaming me for nottalking to them because
\nmaybe (they say) I look like one of them. There is someinjustice in these
\naspersions.\u201d<\/p>\n
IfBuhari could be concerned enough to leave Daura, Katsina state to Oyo
\nstate in2001 to enquire why his people were being killed, shouldn\u2019t the
\nPlateau, Benue,Taraba and other Nigerians from other parts of the country
\nalso be concernedenough now to ask our president, \u201cwhy are your people
\nkilling our people?\u201d<\/p>\n
Was it not theheight of insensitivity for the president to blame the
\ncontinued attacks and killingsof innocent Nigerians on desperate
\npoliticians whom he says were takingadvantage of the situation ahead of
\nthe 2019 elections? Haba, ranka de de!<\/p>\n
Serially, ourpresident has said different things at different times on the
\nspate ofsenseless massacres across the country particularly in the Middle
\nBelt. First,it was a connotation of \u201cfarmers and herdsmen clashes\u201d then he
\nshifted the blameto Gadaffi\u2019s trained killers coming from Libya; and now
\nin total denial blamingthe killings on politicians taking advantage to
\nmake gains for the 2019election. What else do Nigerians need as evidence
\nthat their President iscompletely taking sides with those who kill them?<\/p>\n
Interestingly,the President supposedly went to commiserate with the
\nbereaved people ofPlateau only to go and defend their Fulani killer
\nherdsmen as if the peopledon\u2019t know who their attackers\/killers are. Even
\nwith the confessions of theMyetti Allah in Plateau state, Buhari is still
\nstrongly defending the Fulanikiller herdsmen. What else do Nigerians need
\nas evidence that their Presidentis completely taking sides with those who
\nkill them?<\/p>\n
Is the presidentnot aware of the live television statement by Mallam
\nDanladi Ciroma thechairman (North Central) of the Miyetti Allah Cattle
\nBreeders\u2019 Association ofNigeria (MACBAN) claiming the killings were
\nretaliatory for their lost cows? Afterthe latest Plateau massacre, the
\nMiyetti Allah outrightly took responsibilityfor the killing of over 300
\npeople even with further threats that no one shouldexpect peace in the
\nentire area because they (the Fulanis) lost 300 cows.<\/p>\n
Danladi Ciromaup till now has not been arrested by either the Police or
\nthe DSS that hurlspeople away at night for flimsy reasons that are more
\npolitical than criminal.It is impossible for the Miyetti Allah chairman to
\nsay what he said if such wasnot discussed, agreed, and cleared by the top
\nechelon of Miyetti in the state,region and even at the national level of
\nwhich our president is the GrandPatron.<\/p>\n
Mr President Sir,this is why Nigerians blame you for the spate of killings
\nin the Middle Belta,Southwest, Southeast, South-south, and even the
\nsenseless massacres in Kadunaand Zamfara.<\/p>\n
First you arethe Commander in Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, a
\ntitle that conferson you the responsibility of the Chief Security Officer
\nof the nation. How canyou be so comfortable or rather unruffled as the
\nchief security officer whenpeople are being mercilessly massacred in a
\ncountry you are presiding?<\/p>\n
Secondly, allthe service chiefs, heads of the various intelligence
\nagencies, and theInspector General of Police were appointed solely by you
\nand they reportdirectly to you. Has it not occurred to you that your
\nappointees have by allstandards proven that they are incompetent as they
\nhave failed woefully in therespective assigned responsibilities? If it has
\nnot, then you know why Nigeriansare blaming you for passivity and\/or
\ncomplicity in this whole matter.<\/p>\n
Remember the Ministerof Defence; Mansur Dan-Ali you appointed has
\nrepeatedly stated that cattle herdershave the right to graze with their
\ncattle anywhere and that the host farmersmust accommodate them. \u00a0The
\nstatements ofthe Inspector General of Police not treating with seriousness
\nthe issue of themenace of killer herdsmen are also on record.<\/p>\n
The ServiceChiefs (your appointees also) all work under the Minister of
\nDefence andtherefore receive policy directives from him. Does anybody
\nexpect the NigerianArmed Forces to come to the aid of the unarmed and
\ndefenceless innocentcitizens of this country as long as Mansur Dan-Ali
\nremains the Minister ofDefence? Was this not what T.Y. Danjuma was
\nreferring to, when he recentlyasked that people should rise up to defend
\nthemselves?<\/p>\n
Why has itbecome impossible for you to change the team heading the
\nnation\u2019s securityinfrastructure even with clear manifestations of
\nincompetence or ratherinsincerity? In sane countries where there is
\ndemocracy and a President withimpeccable patriotic intents, there would
\nhave been some serious changes as aresult of abysmal failure or rather
\nincompetence of those charged with managingour security agencies except
\nsomeone is saying they are deeply complicity inwhat is going across the
\ncountry especially in the Middle Belt region.<\/p>\n
Does it notoccur to our President that by his inaction, he is saying a lot
\nabout thiscattle-herder problem? By what he was quoted as saying in Jos,
\nhe simplybelieves that these murderous herders are innocent and are being
\nframed by thepeople they killed. Okay Mr. President we believe you but who
\nare thesemurderers with AK47 riffles? Please don\u2019t also forget that
\nMiyetti Allahadmitted that it was a reprisal attack, could it be that they
\nhire thesekillers to come in and fight for them? You see why Nigerians
\nstrongly believewe should start with the leadership of Miyetti Allah in
\nPlateau, Benue,Nassarawa and even Kaduna; at least we can begin to have
\ninsight into thecharacter and motives of these cow-for-men massacres.<\/p>\n
As said by apublic affairs analyst, in his comment on this spate of
\nmassacres particularlyin the Middle Belt and Southern Kaduna, \u201cThe owners
\nof the cows are not the poor,ubiquitous herdsmen who cater for the cows.
\nWe know that those herdsmen carrysticks and machete most of the time. But
\nthere are those who finance thebusiness, own the cows and engage the poor
\nherders to man the cows. These \u201cbigmen\u201d who own the cows are the ones who
\nengage gunmen to kill and destroyanything living or non-living that
\nthreatens their business. Buhari cannotpretend not to know this. Rather
\nthan address the problem from the root, hechooses to side with his people
\nand continues to regurgitate this puerilecomment of herders-don\u2019t-carry
\nguns.\u201d<\/p>\n
The nature ofthis crisis is clear to everyone and the people affected are
\nfor sure no longerready to buy this \u201cherders-don\u2019t-carry guns\u201d chant of
\nthe president and theearlier he realises it the better for all of us
\ntowards mobilising to find acomprehensive solution to this problem that is
\ngradually building up to anuncontrollable level. God bless Nigeria!<\/p>\n