Once again, Nigeria has been thrown into a state of mourning, following the mindless killings in Plateau State, a state that has only been on vacation from violence for a short term, if you consider the communal clashes that almost consumed it some years back. On and off social media, the outrage is palpable as the discussion turn towards what the government is doing or not doing to end this horror. But truly, has this government done anything to end past horrors?
In 2016, the death toll from attacks against the people of Agatau in Benue State was higher than the entire death toll from terrorism in the whole of Europe for 2017 as recorded in the Global Terrorism Index. The excuse for each attack by the killer herdsmen, like the present attack in Plateau State, is the theft or killing of their cattle by the attacked villages.
This simple logic has made it impossible these days to ignore the harsh reality in Nigeria that a cow is worth more than one human life under the present socio-political firmament in the country. Nothing can be further from the truth as demonstrated by the series of violent attacks and murders carried out by killer herdsmen in states like Benue, Taraba, and Plateau recently.
Shockingly, the default response of the Federal Government has been stone-cold silence. In cases where the government is jolted out of its slumber of silence, the alternative to silence for it is denial. This has not helped in any form either, as the bloodletting continues to flow unhindered. An instance of the president’s denial was in April 2018 while in London with the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby. “The problem is even older than us,” Mr. Buhari said of the killings. “It has always been there, but now made worse by the influx of armed gunmen from the Sahel region into different parts of the West African sub-region. These gunmen were trained and armed by Muammar Gaddafi of Libya. When he was killed, the gunmen escaped with their arms. We encountered some of them fighting with Boko Haram.”
This has however been the trend with the current administration when it comes to its duty to the protection of lives and property of the citizens. If it is not blaming an incompetent Inspector General of Police for failing to act, then the opposition party is definitely taking the fall; yet the blood continues to flow unanswered for. Sadly, this is in total contrast with the expectations of many Nigerians who saw President Muhammadu Buhari as a retired General who would be willing to command a battalion himself, if need be, to ensure the safety and security of Nigerians in times like this. But this thought did not emanate from wishful thinking alone; it came right from the tales of Buhari’s exploits in quelling the Maitasine riots and how he chased a bunch of marauding Chadians away from Nigeria. This leaves one question on the lips of many: where is that fierce general as Benue, Plateau, and Taraba are being reduced to killing fields?
Curiously, with the silence and inaction of this administration in the face of such crimes against humanity, it is hard for these criminals and the general public not to take this silence as consent. The overwhelming facts since the inauguration of this administration support the position of those who think it is condoning lawlessness perpetrated under any guise.
A case in point is the genocide against the Shia sect in the early mornings of President Buhari’s watch. In December 2015, the army killed members of the Shia Islamic Movement of Nigeria after a road blockade by the group in Zaria. The Human Rights Watch Report of 2017 estimated the total number of killed Shia at 347. Hundreds of IMN members including the leader, Ibrahim El Zakzaky, and his wife remained in custody without charges for over a year, amidst public outcry. The Kaduna State Government imposed a ban on the IMN in 2016 and this triggered a wave of bans against the movement in four northern states.
While the disproportionate use of force against this movement by the military is highly condemnable, and many hope that justice will be served one day, it is mind boggling to continue to see leaders of the killer herdsmen walking about free and giving justifications for the attacks, as well as releasing further inflammatory statements calling for more attacks, despite the large-scale atrocities already committed. This ultimately calls into question the premium this administration places on the protection of lives and property which is the cardinal responsibility of every government.
These episodes of violence also cast a pall on the effectiveness of the various arms of government to protect the poorest of the poor against the various predatory elements roaming Nigeria in search of blood- from security agents charged to protect Nigerians to the killer herdsmen. It is extremely nauseating that the legislature has not fathomed a way to force the executive to take action to prevent further killings from occurring, unlike the various means it devises to make the executive bend to its wishes when it comes increasing its constituency allocation.
It is on this note that the president should act fast to prevent Plateau State from returning to the abyss of bloodshed. President Buhari should also take drastic measures to end this lawlessness from becoming a norm in any part of the country, for there is no alternative to justice in when human lives are violated at will.
. Mmerenu is a public affairs commentator and can be reached at mmerenuyagazie@yahoo.com.