What you would have been reading was a discourse on lessons of the ongoing wars across the world. Definitely there are so many things to pick from the conflicts for our benefit as individuals and more so as a race and country. As important as one considered the work, the killings in Benue State and President Tinubu’s near forced visit last Wednesday brought to the fore once again matters that keep recurring like a decimal which we overlook to our detriment.
Our country never ceases to amaze. When terrible things happen we show partial revulsion, abuse the authorities and the matter ends there; it doesn›t matter what the issue is and whether it touches human fatalities or not, we watch it live or through the various social media platforms, shrug our shoulders and life goes on. In some instances, miscreants of various kinds would hit locations and by the time the orgy of violence is ended over 300 citizens, sometimes far more, would have been killed and their property destroyed. Nobody would raise a voice of indignation, everything would seem as bad behavior has become the norm.
Government would adopt a posture that would suggest that nothing unusual has happened. Like has been earlier observed, life continues as if nothing shocks us anymore. Nothing is so nauseating to prick our consciences. Dead consciences everywhere.
Our President was in the country when some communities in Benue State came under severe attacks by suspected imported terrorists. By the time the horrendous terrorist attacks ended, more than 300 citizens had lost their lives. Among the casualties of the dastardly act were children and women whose only sin was that God made them Nigerians. Residences were set on fire.
It took President Tinubu a long time to react to the incident. When he spoke there was no tinge of bitterness in the words he said or in the manner of delivery. He gave an angry people the same refrain: “Those who live in a plural society should be able to manage the good and the bad.” These were not his exact words but rather the crux of his statement.
For many people, the amazing thing came when he said: «I will try to make out time to visit Benue State on Wednesday.» There was an invasion by vandals, he got the report from official state sources, he had been told the shocking high level of fatalities involving of all things human lives and here was a President telling the nation «I will find time to visit», he wasn›t vehement, the tone didn›t show deep anger,there was no marching orders to within a set time fish out the pepetrators. Nobody got the kick, yet this country has police stations across every local government in the country, the state intelligence department do have offices and officers in all the local government areas too, the new security architecture requires the army to have similar presence in the same places.
The security services would idly watch over 100 hoodlums on motorcycles, clutching weapons of war, traverse several communities to perpetrate evil, spend hours doing so and still return to their base. How is it possible that such things could happen without the security agencies having any knowledge of how the perpetrators of such came and left. No trace, not to talk of any arrest. They must be spirits. The over 100 felons return to base and the intelligence arms of the army, Police, State Security Service, Civil Defense, Customs, Immigration, among others could pick out the felons from the other citizens. This must be the ninth wonder of the world.
Rather than face the task of fishing out vandals responsible for the Benue killings the security agents opted to arrest citizens who decided to take the path of sanity through civil protests. They couldn›t find the felons but they could easily reach the innocent protesters who were demanding that the government rises up to its cardinal responsibility to her citizens. Doesn›t this amaze?
Now the country is in the mourning mode ordinarily what the situation demands is sobriety and seriousness. But the Benue State governor who is said to be a Catholic priest chose to act far away from his responsibility as a governor and as a priest. He saw in the President›s visit opportunity to celebrate, time to show political mastery. He chose to fake high level of fakery, he gave a public holiday, in the process confirming he wasn›t quite qualified for the office he got. Behind the qualifications specified in the constitution, compassion towers. As a priest he ought to have a very large dose of this in his heart but from what we eventually saw this priest is as ordinary as the cultists next door in this regard.
He added insult to injury when in this 21st century he asked students to line out on a cold day to wave at and welcome the President. Some of us thought this archaic system had since been done away with but here we are seeing it come in Benue State at the most inauspicious time if ever it was needed at all.
Recently one participated in a seminar where one learnt a very useful lesson which is that late response is as good as no response. It is not responsible to say it is better late than never, of what use is appearance if the value that ought to have been applied wasn’t after all used. The President’s low level response especially where the issue touches on human lives isn’t a right example to emulate. The standard should be prompt and very effective reaction. The switches should be on. Everyone on the line should feel the heat, national security adviser who once visited the state. It is now doubtful what his earlier visit achieved if thunder could still strike twice in the same pattern shortly after. Accountability should be the watch word, officials should lose offices for dereliction of duty or lack of capacity. This is how it is done elsewhere.
We have heard security heads try to rationalize why things are the way they are in Benue State and elsewhere. They allude to land struggle, cattle movements and cattle rustling. No reason is enough to explain away criminality. Struggle for land should never lead to destruction of lives and property. Those who kill should be fished out, tried and sentenced appropriately. Sanction is part of instrument for checking aberrant behaviours.
Netherlands and another country in Europe one can›t remember now have far more cow population than West Africa put together but in those places animals don›t roam the streets. We agree cattle rearing in the way we know it is traditional but society has since evolved. Cow business is essentially cultural to the north so ranches should be developed in those regions for rearing the animals, which can transported in trucks for sale in other areas. We have failed to flow in this direction because some Nigerians motivated by foreign funds are hell bent on pushing an agenda that destabilizes the health of the country. Pushing religious and tribal agenda too far won’t work. It will disturb the peace for a while before it morphs into a national conflagration. This will not be good for anybody, including the sponsors.
An internal security system which is best suitable for federalism in a plural society like Nigeria has become very imperative. State police comes to mind. All the window dressing called forest guards is willful attempt to sidetrack what is pertinent. Plain Truth is that the right we ought to do but fail to do is what transforms to contradictions, which would force us to act under very difficult moments. We hope we begin to see a stop to the ugly occurrences in Benue State and in other places. We need peace to build.