the day to “make arrest of herdsmen carrying AK-47 rifles illegally across Nigeria”.
Barely four days after the elder statesman’s charge, the Nigerian police arrested a
herdsman with AK-47 rifle in Enugu state.
27 This is surprisingly terrifying because
the traditional herdsmen were never known to be carrying guns. These men have sent
countless men, women and children to their early graves because of land dispute.
They sack villages, thereby rendering helpless village widows, widowers and
orphans. Although the impact of herdsmen killings is like an ‘albatross on the
neck’ of the whole nation, Benue state appears to be the epicentre.
28 In the past,
Miyetti Allah and other “Fulani leaders openly claimed responsibility for the killings, but alleged being provoked by wanton rustling of their livestock.”
29
In view of the above, critics blame the government in power for being bereft of
solution to the crisis. The issue is even further aggravated by the steps taken by
Benue and Taraba state governments to help their citizens from the “claws of these
marauding beasts”.
Ironically, the situation has become even more horrible. In this regard, the
Inspector General of Police blamed the spate of killings on the signing into law of
the Anti-Open Grazing Bill by the two states. If the assertion of the Inspector
General of Police is anything to go by, then what about the similar situations in
Plateau, Nassarawa and Kogi states where the anti-grazing law do not exist but the
wanton killings by Fulani herdsmen have continued unabated? As it is now,
Nigerians believe there is “more to these killings than what meet the eyes”. Obviously, there is a political and ethno-religious dimension or undertone to it. Perhaps
that was what General TY Danjuma (Rtd), a former minister of defense, saw when
he vociferously urged Nigerians on a national television to “resort to self-help or you
all die.”
30 He made it clear that the security agents colluded with the Fulani
herdsmen to kill people from other tribes.
31 So, does this mean ethnic cleansing?
If this is the purpose for all the killings, why is the cleansing? Is the intention to flush
out the Tivs and other minorities in order to claim their lands? These and many more
are questions begging for answers in the Nigerian current soil governance crises.
Danjuma’s position was supported by Prof. Sagay who took it from the point of view
the law that every citizen has “the right to self-defence”.
32 Danjuma was not alone;
elder statesmen like Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, Wole Soyinka, Pastor Tunde Bakare
and a host of others including the US President, Donald Trump observing that:
. . .we have had very serious problems with Christians who have been murdered, killed in
Nigeria. We are going to be working on the problem. . . .because we can’t allow that to
happen.
33
27 Pulse NG (July 4th, 2018).
28 Punch Newspapers (May 2nd, 2018b).
29 The Guardian Nigeria (April 13th, 2018).
30 Vanguard (March 24th, 2018b).
31 Vanguard (March 24th, 2018b).
32 Daily Post (March 26th, 2018b).
33 Quartz Africa (May 1st, 2018).
Soil Governance and Sustainable Land Use System in Nigeria: The Paradox of. . .
165
Barely four days after the elder statesman’s charge, the Nigerian police arrested a
herdsman with AK-47 rifle in Enugu state.
27 This is surprisingly terrifying because
the traditional herdsmen were never known to be carrying guns. These men have sent
countless men, women and children to their early graves because of land dispute.
They sack villages, thereby rendering helpless village widows, widowers and
orphans. Although the impact of herdsmen killings is like an ‘albatross on the
neck’ of the whole nation, Benue state appears to be the epicentre.
28 In the past,
Miyetti Allah and other “Fulani leaders openly claimed responsibility for the killings, but alleged being provoked by wanton rustling of their livestock.”
29
In view of the above, critics blame the government in power for being bereft of
solution to the crisis. The issue is even further aggravated by the steps taken by
Benue and Taraba state governments to help their citizens from the “claws of these
marauding beasts”.
Ironically, the situation has become even more horrible. In this regard, the
Inspector General of Police blamed the spate of killings on the signing into law of
the Anti-Open Grazing Bill by the two states. If the assertion of the Inspector
General of Police is anything to go by, then what about the similar situations in
Plateau, Nassarawa and Kogi states where the anti-grazing law do not exist but the
wanton killings by Fulani herdsmen have continued unabated? As it is now,
Nigerians believe there is “more to these killings than what meet the eyes”. Obviously, there is a political and ethno-religious dimension or undertone to it. Perhaps
that was what General TY Danjuma (Rtd), a former minister of defense, saw when
he vociferously urged Nigerians on a national television to “resort to self-help or you
all die.”
30 He made it clear that the security agents colluded with the Fulani
herdsmen to kill people from other tribes.
31 So, does this mean ethnic cleansing?
If this is the purpose for all the killings, why is the cleansing? Is the intention to flush
out the Tivs and other minorities in order to claim their lands? These and many more
are questions begging for answers in the Nigerian current soil governance crises.
Danjuma’s position was supported by Prof. Sagay who took it from the point of view
the law that every citizen has “the right to self-defence”.
32 Danjuma was not alone;
elder statesmen like Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, Wole Soyinka, Pastor Tunde Bakare
and a host of others including the US President, Donald Trump observing that:
. . .we have had very serious problems with Christians who have been murdered, killed in
Nigeria. We are going to be working on the problem. . . .because we can’t allow that to
happen.
33
27 Pulse NG (July 4th, 2018).
28 Punch Newspapers (May 2nd, 2018b).
29 The Guardian Nigeria (April 13th, 2018).
30 Vanguard (March 24th, 2018b).
31 Vanguard (March 24th, 2018b).
32 Daily Post (March 26th, 2018b).
33 Quartz Africa (May 1st, 2018).
Soil Governance and Sustainable Land Use System in Nigeria: The Paradox of. . .
165