The spate of killings in the Middle Belt and elsewhere is unimaginable. On
24 April 2018, the Fulani herdsmen killed two priests (Rev Fathers Gor Joseph
and Felix Tyoloha) and 17 parishioners in a Catholic Church in Benue state.
34 The
killers also burnt down the church. It is against this pathetic background that Nobel
Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka reiterated his view that:
Nigeria is sliding from ethnic cleansing to genocide. The plain expression is ethnic cleansing
and we must not beat around the bush. The shade of Rwanda hangs over the nation
(Nigeria). . . .
35
The Benue youths, seemingly tired of the trend, allegedly carried out a reprisal
attack on Huasa-Fulani settlements within their territory.
36 This confirmed the fears
of many Nigerians and international observers that the Nigerian crisis was turning
out to be an ethno-religious conflict thereby downplaying the real cause of the crisis
which is soil governance or access to soil resources.
Despite the outcry on these killings, according to Senator Eyninaya Abaribe,
37
the Commander-in-Chief who is also a Fulani, claims not to be aware of all the
Fulani herdsmen killings happening in the country.
He further moved that “President Buhari is incompetent.” Similarly, many critics
have urged the President to proscribe the Fulani herdsmen as terrorists, but he pays
deaf ear to them. However, the Middle Belt Forum (MBF) insists that such a
declaration will purge the President of bias. In a message to the people of Benue
state, President Buhari, contrary to the expectation of the bereaved Benue people,
enjoined them to “accommodate the killer herdsmen as their brothers”.
38 Meanwhile, President Buhari in response to comments by the Archbishop of Canterbury,
His Grace, Justin Welby, while in London, the United Kingdom, said:
The problem is even older than us. . . It has always been there, but now made worse by the
influx of 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. . . .Herdsmen that we used to know carried only sticks and maybe a
cutlass to clear the way, but these ones now carry sophisticated weapons. The problem is not
religious, but sociological and economic. But we are working on solutions.
39
In effect, the herdsmen and farmers clashes have hyped the already critical food
insecurity situation in the country. This is significant in the sense that the states most
affected are major players in crop production. For instance, Benue is nicknamed the
“Food Basket of the Nation” because of this role. Quite unfortunately, ‘things are
falling apart.’ Farmers can no longer work freely and effectively in their farms for the
fear of unsuspected herdsmen attacks. Another possible problem originating from
34 Daily Post (April 24th, 2018c).
35 Premium Times (April 30th, 2018b).
36 The Cable Nigeria (April 27th, 2018).
37 Vanguard (April 13th, 2018c).
38 Punch Newspaper (January 15th, 2018a).
39 Premium Times Nigeria (April 12th, 2018a).
166
B. B. Orubebe
24 April 2018, the Fulani herdsmen killed two priests (Rev Fathers Gor Joseph
and Felix Tyoloha) and 17 parishioners in a Catholic Church in Benue state.
34 The
killers also burnt down the church. It is against this pathetic background that Nobel
Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka reiterated his view that:
Nigeria is sliding from ethnic cleansing to genocide. The plain expression is ethnic cleansing
and we must not beat around the bush. The shade of Rwanda hangs over the nation
(Nigeria). . . .
35
The Benue youths, seemingly tired of the trend, allegedly carried out a reprisal
attack on Huasa-Fulani settlements within their territory.
36 This confirmed the fears
of many Nigerians and international observers that the Nigerian crisis was turning
out to be an ethno-religious conflict thereby downplaying the real cause of the crisis
which is soil governance or access to soil resources.
Despite the outcry on these killings, according to Senator Eyninaya Abaribe,
37
the Commander-in-Chief who is also a Fulani, claims not to be aware of all the
Fulani herdsmen killings happening in the country.
He further moved that “President Buhari is incompetent.” Similarly, many critics
have urged the President to proscribe the Fulani herdsmen as terrorists, but he pays
deaf ear to them. However, the Middle Belt Forum (MBF) insists that such a
declaration will purge the President of bias. In a message to the people of Benue
state, President Buhari, contrary to the expectation of the bereaved Benue people,
enjoined them to “accommodate the killer herdsmen as their brothers”.
38 Meanwhile, President Buhari in response to comments by the Archbishop of Canterbury,
His Grace, Justin Welby, while in London, the United Kingdom, said:
The problem is even older than us. . . It has always been there, but now made worse by the
influx of 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. . . .Herdsmen that we used to know carried only sticks and maybe a
cutlass to clear the way, but these ones now carry sophisticated weapons. The problem is not
religious, but sociological and economic. But we are working on solutions.
39
In effect, the herdsmen and farmers clashes have hyped the already critical food
insecurity situation in the country. This is significant in the sense that the states most
affected are major players in crop production. For instance, Benue is nicknamed the
“Food Basket of the Nation” because of this role. Quite unfortunately, ‘things are
falling apart.’ Farmers can no longer work freely and effectively in their farms for the
fear of unsuspected herdsmen attacks. Another possible problem originating from
34 Daily Post (April 24th, 2018c).
35 Premium Times (April 30th, 2018b).
36 The Cable Nigeria (April 27th, 2018).
37 Vanguard (April 13th, 2018c).
38 Punch Newspaper (January 15th, 2018a).
39 Premium Times Nigeria (April 12th, 2018a).
166
B. B. Orubebe