Opinion
President Tinubu’s Benue Visit, Peace, Justice For The Dead
By Onorakpene Eviosekwofa
While I commend President Tinubu for his visit to Benue state, and his promise to end killings in the state albeit his digression from the objective of his visit to talk politics, he must walk his promises with action.
I stand with and salute the courage of the Tor Tiv, HRM Orchivirigh Prof James Ayatse, the traditional ruler of the Tiv people, who spoke truth to power and to the president. The Tor Tiv aptly captured the under-current factors responsible for the killings – a deliberately planned and executed attack on the indigenes of Benue communities, especially to steal their ancestral land. The Tor Tiv clearly identified the root causes(s) of the attacks and killings, he described the perpetrators of the killings of Benue people as herdsmen-bandit-terrorists who are on land grabbing, genocide killing mission! So, what other evidence do we need to unmask the killers?
I like President Tinubu’s jab at the DGs of the National Intelligence Agency, NIA, the Department of State Security, DSS, especially to the IGP of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, “How come no arrest has been made?”. Tinubu went further, “Reboot your information channels and let’s have intelligence on these killers”. I leave you to pass judgement on the performance of the above officers.
In Tinubu’s speech at the Benue town hall meeting, he told Benue citizens to live in peace. My question is:
• Why should Benue state indigenes make peace with people who kill their kith and kin?
• How can anyone make peace with faceless people who attack and kill them?
• Tinubu requested land to establish a ranch from Governor Alia. This is deliberately a self-glorification project – this will not stop the killings. Herdsmen must be identified, profiled, and their records captured by individual, host state governments, with a view to aid the development of ranches which must be restricted with perimeter fence to stop migration with their cattle within a community, the attacks and killing of innocent people shall not end.
It is high time for examples to be made of the killers of Benue people. Until there’s a deliberate effort to arrest and prosecute these killers, justice for the dead and their grieving families, these attacks and killings shall continue with impunity and unabated!
As for the governor of Benue state, Reverend Alia, he should stop playing politics with the killing of his people. From the revelations of attack survivors, the killers are not politicians but herdsmen-bandit-terrorists!
In the coming days, Nigerians expect the security agencies, without any nudge from the president, to arrest the killers of Benue people. If not, President Tinubu should sack them. May the souls of the dead rest in peace, and may God comfort their families.