By Peter Awunah, PhD
Blood is flowing uncontrollably on Benue’s farmlands and in homes across the communities! The state has become a killing field since the year started! The merchants of death are back. The Fulani terrorists have returned! Cries of helpless and vulnerable people – women, children and the elderly who have nowhere to run to are being heard daily across the state. They cry without any help coming until the killers slit their throats.
Benue is apparently rudderless at the moment, yet, there is a governor in the state and President Bola Tinubu has not stopped sending huge allocations to the state which have increased now that oil subsidy has gone.
Governor Hyacinth Alia is on top doing nothing. But he doesn’t miss collecting security votes. A governor who is worried about the security situation in his state would have been seen visiting places worst hit by the attacks and mobilizing troops to prevent further bloodshed. But the only time we see Governor Alia is when he is alighting from a private jet. He is saying nothing and doing nothing to stop herdsmen attacks and killing of people in the state.
Two persons were killed in Agena village of Ukum yesterday. In Borikyo village also in Ukum, a graduate of Engineering was butchered by the mindless herder militia. Twenty-six (26) people were slaughtered in Kwande some days ago. Last week, 13 people were killed in Adoka district of Otukpo local government area following herders attack on the people. A lot more have been killed in Gwer West, Guma, Makurdi and other parts of the state.
Yesterday, I listened to an audio clip of a phone conversation between a young man who sounded like a member of one of the local security outfits established by the previous government in Benue State reporting a gruesome experience he and his colleagues had in Kwande recently while accompanying the military on a security patrol around the area. According to the young man, they sighted large herds of cattle and wanted to ask the nomads to leave the state, but suddenly, they were surrounded by militia who emerged from the cattle carrying sophisticated rifles. He said the armed herders instantly opened fire on them which lasted for hours. The young man said it took the grace of God for them, including the soldiers, to escape from the area.
That is the sad situation currently in Benue State. Fulani herdsmen are back with thousands of cattle and sophisticated weapons to takeover the state. Some indigenes of Benue who have had an encounter with the agents of death in the bush say the pastoralists claim that the present government told them to return because there will be “peaceful coexistence”. What I don’t understand is why someone who is coming to peacefully coexist with others is coming with AK47 hung on his shoulder.
Govenror Alia has denied inviting the Fulanis back to Benue State and has instead accused members of the National Assembly from the state of sending a letter to the Nigeria/Niger border inviting the Fulani to return. But whose responsibility is it to protect the people of Benue State? Who collects billions of naira for security?
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The governor must demonstrate a genuine commitment to the security and well-being of the people of Benue State by prioritizing the resolution of the security crisis over political expediency. The lives and safety of the citizens should never be compromised or disregarded for political gain or convenience.
Governor Alia’s lack of action on the ongoing insecurity in Benue State is unacceptable! If he is clueless and incapable of addressing confronting the people, he should publicly admit and apologize. Salaries are important, but life comes first.
His silence and inaction in the face of the attacks and killings undermine the trust and confidence of the people.
* Awunah writes from Durumi, Abuja
