SINCE the New Year killings by herdsmen in Logo and Guma local government areas in Benue State, the relationship between the Federal Government and Benue State Government has worsened.
The killings by suspected Fulani militia in the state peaked when herdsmen launched blistering attacks on predominantly Tiv farmers, using sophisticated weapons, and leaving 73 farmers killed on January, 1, 2018. Shortly after the New Year’s bloody gift, Benue State Government started the implementation of its anti-open grazing law.
The victims were given a mass burial, a solemn event that attracted deep sympathy and wide condemnation from local and international communities.
However, the killings continued even after the 73 bodies were buried, just as a new dimension was added to the killings as farmers accused Fulani herdsmen of taking over their farmlands.
After the open grazing law was enacted, three major ethnic groups in Benue State, namely Mzough – U-Tiv, Idoma National Forum and Omini ‘Igede raised alarm in different press conferences that some Fulani groups had concluded plans to attack and kill more people to protest the implementation of the anti-open grazing law.
The group addressed a world press conference in Abuja and followed it up by approaching all the prominent Emirs in the north.
President of Mzoug-u-Tiv, Chief Edward Ujege, told journalists that: “We wrote a petition to the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), the State Security Service (SSS) and other security agencies, informing them of the plan of Fulani herdsmen to attack Benue farmers but nothing was done until they carried out the attacks.”
Governor Samuel Orton also told journalists that he personally submitted a petition to the Inspector General of Police and the Vice President, who was then Acting President, and informed them about the threat by Miyetti Allah Kautal Houre, to carry out attacks on Benue because of the Anti-Open Grazing Law.
But the Vice President denied the claim, insisting that no petition was summited in his office. As a result, there was fierce war of words between Ortom and key members of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
Benue State Government also accused President Buhari of giving cover to his Fulani kinsmen who maimed and killed armless Benue State farmers.
In one of his interviews with an international news channel, Ortom said his party, the APC, has failed.
The governor also accused Buhari of neglecting the people of Benue State.
Things got worse when, one month after the killings, no federal government delegation came to condole with the people of Benue State.
The government and people of Benue State were irked that rather than visit Benue, President Buhari chose to visit their next door neighbour, Nassarawa State, where it was alleged that some cows were killed.
As would be expected, opposition party governors cashed in on the crisis and stole the show by paying well-advertised condolence visits to Governor Ortom and the Benue people.
Also, Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, and leaders of South-South, South-East , South-West and Middle Belt Forum all paid solidarity visits to Ortom and urged him to join PDP. Encouraged by the development, Benue indigenes openly accused President Buhari of being a sectional leader, explaining that this was the reason he neither visited Benue State when it mattered most to condole the people nor ordered security agencies to halt the killings.
The President’s visit
Last Monday, the president finally visited Benue in a bid to find a lasting solution to the herders-farmers clash.
But to say that President Buhari was given a shock treatment on his official visit to the food Basket state was an understatement.
Right from Makurdi Airport to the Government House, Makurdi, where he held a stakeholders meeting, the streets were empty; No school children lined up the street, APC supporters were not found; No public holidays was declared nor was any market closed to honour him.
Everyone was going about his normal business. It is also easily noticeable that no single banner was hoisted to welcome him. The picture did not betray the usual fanfare that greets a presidential visit in Nigeria.
An angry resident said that by their actions and inactions the government and people of Benue State had sent a clear message to Buhari that they were not happy over the way and manner he responded to the attacks and killings in Benue State.
At the Government House, Makurdi, venue of the stakeholders meeting, Benue People freely vented their anger over what they described as slow response to the Fulani killings in Benue.
Youth leaders, traditional rulers, women, union leaders, APC chieftains all told the president point blank that he neglected Benue people, who gave him the highest votes in 2015 at the time they need him most.
They however urged the President to end the killings now.
While the drama was ongoing inside the Government House, another was playing out outside the venue as some youths staged a peaceful protest against Mr. President’s visit to the state.
Numbering over 50, the placards carrying youths sang mourning songs and called on President Buhari to stop playing politics with the blood of Benue people and end Fulani killings in Benue.
In all, the presidential visit to Benue State lasted only for one hour, thirty minutes as his schedule to visit the Internally Dispalced Peoples Camp was either omitted or cancelled.
Any peace in sight?
Some observers of the development told The Nation during the week that after the presidential visit, the tension in the state is yet to ease off. This, they said, is because many indigenes expected that the president will make specific comments on when and how the killings will end, but according to them, he did not make the expected pronouncements.
On whether there is any peace in sight, an indigene of Makurdi said, “there seems to be no concrete hope yet. Even the over 170,000 displaced persons in the camp have no hope on when they would return to their homes as the killings continued after the president’s visit.