The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Fulani herdsmen

  • Enugu killings: Community calls for government intervention

    Enugu killings: Community calls for government intervention

    The people of Uzo-Uwani communities in Enugu state have called on the Federal Government to urgently intervene to stop further attacks of its communities by herdsmen who cross into the area from the neighbouring Kogi State.

    In a statement issued at the end of an emergency meeting of Uzo-Uwani Professionals Association in Abuja, the group frowned at the recent attack of Nimbo community in the local government by Fulani herdsmen who crossed over from Kogi state during which more than forty lives were lost and property worth millions of Naira destroyed.

    The association also warned that the people of Uzo-Uwani‎ will no longer fold their arms and watch any group pr individuals attack communities in the area for the single objective of killing, maiming of people and the destruction of communities.

    The press statement which was signed by Mr. Peter Anjia Okoye, President, UZPA, stated that about one hundred people were wounded during the attack and are still in hospital receiving treatment.
    The Group said: “For the avoidance of doubt, about one hundred persons who were wounded during the incident are receiving ‎treatment in hospitals at Nsukka and Adani, while two more bodies were discovered yesterday during the visit of the Governor of Enugu state to the community.

    “We are aware of the tension building up in some of the communities in the local government especially four other towns listed as those likely to be attacked and therefore, call on the government to deploy troops and police mobile units to all the communities in the local government.

    “We also demand the immediate constitution of a Judicial Panel of Inquiry by the Federal Government to unravel the real motives behind the unprovoked attacks of our communities. For Instance, we need to know why despite warnings, the police and military were unable to deploy to the area.

    “We need to know if truly, a Fulani chief was killed in a farm settlement in Igalamala Council Area of Kogi state and why our people are being attacked ostesibly in retaliation for that, we also need to know why the Divisional Police Unit in Uzo-Uwani were unable to respond as quickly as it should during the attack.

    “We also need to know why police in Kogi could not prevent the movement of such number of herdsmen without their livestock despite warnings to the Kogi police of the plan to attack communities in Enugu. We also need to know why up till now the Police is unable to apprehend any suspect in the event.”

    The Association further urged National urged National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to urgently come to the assistance of displaced people of the area, many of whom are now living in squatter settlements especially in Nsukka, Uvuru, Nkpologu, Ugbene-Ajima and Omasi Agu in Anambra state.

  • Herdsmen’s killings: Buhari gives Chief of Army Staff, IGP matching order

    Herdsmen’s killings: Buhari gives Chief of Army Staff, IGP matching order

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday ordered the Chief of Army Staff, Major General Abayomi Olonishakin and the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase to take immediate steps to secure communities under attack by herdsmen.
    The President also ordered Olonishakin and Arase to go after groups terrorizing innocent Nigerians in communities and villages.
    The President gave the matching order at the presentation of the book, “Who will Love my Country” written by the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, in Abuja.
    President Buhari who was represented by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, warned that his government will no longer allow the attacks to continue.
    He specifically condemned the attacks said to have been carried out by Fulani herdsmen in Uzo-Uwani local government of Enugu State which claimed many lives on Sunday.
    He said, “Let me start by condemning in strongest terms the attacks by herdsmen in Enugu State on Monday.  I deeply sympathize with those who lost their lives as well as those who lost their property.
    “I have directed the Chief of Defence Staff and the Inspector – General of Police to secure all communities under attacks by herdsmen and to go after the groups terrorising innocent people all over the country. This government will not allow these attacks to continue.”
    On the book, Buhari said that the author saw the need for attitudinal change for the purpose of fighting corruption and impunity and of course the need for Nigerians to love their country.
    He noted that “the author demonstrated in the book that Nigerians can only get the Nigeria of their dreams if they make bold efforts to put the nation’s interest above their individual interest.”
    He said, “We should start with individual attitude of change,  if we change our ways, the society will change for the better.
     “The author urged all tiers of government to undertake programmes and policies that will enhance the living standards of the people and ensure their happiness.
    “The 2016 budget is designed to bring our people out of poverty, enhance their living standards and bring smiles to their faces. The N500billion social intervention fund was designed to among others create jobs for 500, 000 unemployed graduates, provide loans for one million Nigerians including market men and women as well as artisans to start up their business.
    “It also includes feeding of 4.5million students in schools. Nigerians can only have and live in the country of their dreams by shunning corruption and desist from converting public property for personal usage or divert public funds to their private pockets.
    “I commend Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, for investing his time and energy to write the book which is a wake up call and thought provoking.”
    Former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon (rtd) who chaired the event said that from the title of the book, it is easy to determine that Ekweremadu has set out on a journey of self discovery.
    Gen. Gowon said, “It is a journey that is hinged on patriotism. I will want to believe that the motivation to write this book, derives in that part from the circumstances of our nation’s contemporary history. In itself this could be likened to bad times in which new life cannot be brought forward.
    “Many years back we fought a war to remain united, indivisible nation, this was because we believe and still believe that what bounds us is far greater than what divides us.
    “There is no denying the fact that Nigeria is stronger together and that the future remains very bright. Let us continue to move together as one. Nigeria has a great potential to become great, but it is left for each and every one of us to do our best to ensure and hasten the process.
    “Who will Love My Country?  The truth is no one but you and I. The foreigner cannot love our country the way we will love it. Neither can you love other country more than you will like your own.
    “We shall overcome all challenges if the leadership is committed to truly serve the people, and avoid corruption which I believe that the current leadership will tackle.
    “Definitely not insurgency or Fulani herdsmen’s menace will divide us because with the help of God and cooperation of the citizenry and the gallant security forces, we shall soon conquer.”
    Senator Ekweremadu in his speech asked Nigerians to show more love for the country by rising above tribe, ethnic, religious and political persuasions, with a view to subordinate all the aforementioned interests, to the overriding interest of the country.
    He also called on Nigerian leaders to govern effectively and use power wisely, saying that was the only way to safeguard the citizens’ interest.
    He noted that to love Nigeria, would entail Nigerians to critically revise and reexamine their attitudes,  values, and how they treat one another, which “demands of us some sacrifice.”
    He asked: “Are we going to bequeath to our children a banner stained by corruption, bad governance, ineffective leadership, ethnicity, slacking moral values, decadence, mediocrity, and sloth? God forbid!”
    He said Nigeria needed to return to the path of progress and unity charted by the founding fathers.
    He said: “If you are on a journey and you find out that you are travelling the wrong road, the right thing to do is to turn back and take the right path.
    “We must be ready to surrender our perceived narrow advantages to the general good. We must let go, for unless you release the man you are holding to the ground, you would not also be able to move an inch. Now is the time to offer one another a hand of comradeship and together we can move to the Promised Land.”
    He reiterated the fact that he wrote the book, not as the Deputy President of the Senate, nor as a card carrying member of any political party, but as a patriotic Nigerian, who was concerned about Nigeria’s future.
    He added, “I lay no claims to having the solutions to Nigeria’s problems; I simply want to challenge and inspire Nigerians to rise above ethnic, partisan and selfish interests and focus more on how to build a better country for us and our children.”
    Ekweremadu, further charged Nigerian Leaders to “show fidelity to democratic imperatives of accountability and transparency, respect the laws of the land and respect the rights and liberties of citizens.
    “Nobody can save or help Nigeria but Nigerians. As Timi Dakolo rightly pointed out in his thought-provoking song, Great Nation, ‘We are all we have’. That is the message of this book.  There are no problems Nigerians cannot solve if we act in good faith, guided by the nation’s best interest.
    At the event, where a minute silence, at the behest of Ekweremadu, was observed in honour of those who were killed in Uzo Uwani in Enugu State as well as other parts of the country, the Deputy President of the Senate said “the sad incident further reinforces the need for this book and the ideas espoused in the book”.
    “The primary responsibility of government is the security of lives and properties of the citizens. We must rethink our security system to serve us better”, he declared.
    The book presentation had in attendance a retinue of serving and former governors, ministers, party leaders, federal lawmakers, across political divides.
    It also recorded a high turnout of members of the academia, diplomatic corps, and the civil society.
  • APC wants end to killings by Fulani herdsmen

    APC wants end to killings by Fulani herdsmen

    The leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the south east has demanded an end to the wanton killings of innocent Nigerians and destruction of villages and farmlands by so called Fulani Herdsmen as well as reprisals attacks.

    In a statement made available to The Nation in Abuja and signed by spokesman of the South East caucus of the part, Osita Okechukwu, the APC said the killings first in Agatu and recently in Enugu must stop forthwith.

    He said: “It is painful that while the Federal Government of Nigeria is doing everything possible to contain the Boko Haram insurgency; another virus in the name of Herdsmen is dislocating the security architecture of our dear country. Yesterday it was Agatu in Benue State; today it is Ukpabio Nimbo in Enugu State. It must stop.

    “May we use this opportunity to deeply commiserate with the families of the bereaved; in particular the people and government of Benue and Enugu States. God in his infinite mercy will surely heal the wounds.

    “In sum, we appeal for calm and urge all to take solace on the truism that the Federal Government of Nigeria under President Muhammadu Buhari is quietly working round the clock to stop the bloodletting, fish out the culprits and the masterminds who equip the Herdsmen with sophisticated weapons.”

  • Terrorists now disguising as Fulani herdsmen – Ijaw youths

    Umbrella body of Ijaw youths, the Ijaw Youths Council (IYC), Worldwide, on Wednesday said terrorists not Fulani herdsmen were responsible for the killings of people in remote communities across the country.

    IYC in a statement signed by its Spokesman, Mr. Eric Omare, condemned the “slaughtering” of innocent Nigerians in middle belt, Southwest and recently in Enugu State, Southeast, describing it as barbaric.

    Omare said the traditional Fulani herdsmen have been conducting their business peacefully for decades without resorting to killing of their neighbours.

    He said the sponsored attacks could be a plot by disgruntled persons to pit one ethnic group against the other so as to destabilise the country.

    He said: “We are of the view that the attacks are being carried out by terrorists who are disguising themselves as Fulani herdsmen.

    “The traditional Fulani herdsmen have been grazing their cattle for decades in different parts of the country without such attacks until recently when the attacks became persistent.

    He, however, frowned on what he described as suspicious and criminal silence of the Federal Government on the matter.

    He wondered why the Presidency vowed to deal with vandals of oil facilities in the Niger Delta region as common criminals while keeping mute on attacks threatening the sovereignty of the country.

     

  • Fulani herdsmen: Reps ask IGP to investigate Enugu killings

    Fulani herdsmen: Reps ask IGP to investigate Enugu killings

    The House of Representatives has mandated the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Solomon Arase to investigate the killings allegedly carried out by Fulani herdsmen in Enugu State.

    The Director General of the Department of State Security (DSS), Lawal Daura has also been summoned to brief the House about measures being put in place by his agency to stop the killings.

    The aim of the investigation, according to the lawmakers is to ascertain the causes as well as bring those culpable to book.

    The decision of the House followed the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance by Chukwuemeka Ujam (PDP, Enugu), regretted that findings have shown that a number of persons have been declared missing with their whereabouts unknown.

    Saying that the recurring killings by the Fulani herdsmen threatens the security of the country, Ujam added, “Eye witnesses account indicates that this mayhem was perpetuated by an army of masked herdsmen emerging from the bushes and attacking their victims with careless abandon.

    “These merchants of death were armed with guns bow and arrows, swords and engaged in sporadic shooting for a lengthy period of time, sending shivers into the inhabitant of this community and hacking any person within sight to death.”

    In his contribution, the Minority Leader, Leo Ogor (PDP, Delta) said the issue of conflicts between Fulani herdsmen and host communities over grazing must be addressed as a matter of urgency.

    “Rearing should be done in confined zones but it is important to address this issue once and for all,” he added.

    The motion was unanimously adopted after it was put to a voice vote by the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara

     

  • Herdsmen kill 48 in attack on Enugu community

    Herdsmen kill 48 in attack on Enugu community

    •56 injured •60 houses razed
    •Six people died, say Police
    •Bishops to Buhari: end killings

    RAMPAGING Fulani herdsmen yesterday invaded an agrarian community, Ukpabi Nimbo in Uzo-Uwani Local Government, Enugu State.

    Forty eight members of the community were killed.

    Over 60 houses and shops were set ablaze by the invading herdsmen. About 56 injured residents are receiving treatment at hospitals in Nsukka.

    The attack came two days after a security report hinted of an impending attack by Fulani herdsmen in the area.

    The report had said the community would be invaded by about 500 Fulani herdsmen from Nasarawa State.

    A team of soldiers and mobile police drafted to the area after the report of the invasion filtered into the state was overpowered by the herdsmen.

    The invaders, who came into Ukpabi-Nimbo in the wee hours of yesterday, were said to have used grenades, AK 47 and other dangerous weapons.

    According to the residents, the herdsmen “were indiscriminately shooting and cutting our kinsmen with machetes”.

    As at yesterday evening, some residents said those killed have exceeded the initial 48 brought to the Bishop Shanahan Hospital, Nsukka, by policemen.

    Transitional Committee Chairman of Uzo-Uwani Local Government Cornell Onwubuya said despite efforts to stop the attack, the herdsmen still went ahead to unleash mayhem on the community.

    Enugu Police, in a statement, said it had commenced “a full scale investigation into the alleged killing of six persons at Nimbo in Uzo Uwani Local Government by suspected herdsmen”.

    The police said following a report, the Commissioner of Police, Nwaodibo Ekechukwu, mobilised and left with operatives to ensure that the incident did not degenerate into an uncontrollable situation and to work out strategies aimed at fishing out those behind it and to bring them to book.

    The police said normalcy has returned to the area.

    Ekechukwu ,who visited the area, urged the people of Nimbo to continue to be law-abiding and never to take laws into their hands.

    But a worker at Bishop Shanahan Hospital, Nsukka, confirmed receiving 30 bodies and 22 injured persons in the morning.

    Hundreds of displaced residents are reported to be taking refuge in Nsukka.

    The Council of Bishops of Methodist Church of Nigeria yesterday described the continued onslaught by Fulani herdsmen as primitive and lamentable.

    They called on President Muhammadu Buhari to take actions to stop the carnage.

    The bishops said a situation where Fulani herdsmen would sack a community, villages and kill hundreds of people in a bid to feed and protect their cattle was unacceptable.

    Speaking after their 34th Conference in Ibadan, presided over by the Prelate, Dr. Samuel Chukwuemeka Uche, they said Nigerians should no longer keep sacrificing human lives for the grazing of cows.

    The council, in a communiqué at the end of the conference, decried the menace of Fulani herdsmen, which it said was now becoming worse than the Boko Haram insurgency.

    They urged the Federal Government to establish ranches rather than creating grazing zones which, it observed, might create more problems.

  • We’ll stop killer Fulani herdsmen, says Arase

    We’ll stop killer Fulani herdsmen, says Arase

    The Police say they will not allow the Fulani herdsmen menace fester like Boko Haram.

    They plan to keep monitoring the herdsmen and check their activities.

    Police Inspector General Solomon Arase told reporters yesterday in Abuja that the police would “continue to monitor them, degrade them and continue to amputate them whenever they come up.”

    He linked the indiscriminate killing by some herdsmen to the influx of arms and ammunition from such countries as Mali, Chad and Libya.

    “I have repeatedly said that what is happening has to be placed against the background of what is happening in African sub-region. When you look at the period when these things started happening and the crisis with migrants and then the flow of arms across our borders, then you will understand what is happening,” he said.

    “We have been living with our own indigenous herdsmen for many years, so why is it now that there are crisis in Mali, Libya, Chad and the proliferation of firearms that the herdsmen are  becoming more prevalent in the system.

    “We have to look at it against that background and maybe they have indigenous collaborators but we will not allow them and it will not degenerate into Boko Haram. We will continue to monitor them, degrade them and continue to amputate them whenever they come up”.

    On the ongoing recruitment into the police, IGP Arase said the new intakes will be trained with stun guns to check the rate at which innocent Nigerian get killed by policemen.

    A stun gun momentarily disables either a beast or a person with an electric shock.

    He said: “We want to migrate from the use of firearms in patrols in main cities and we have ordered for stun guns. The people that will be recruited will be trained mostly with stun guns because that is what is prevalent internationally and stun guns are very effective because they can incapacitate temporarily without killing.”

    But he could not say how much the project would cost.

    “I cannot put a cost to it because they (guns) are not manufactured in Nigeria and you cannot pick them up on the shelves. So, it takes time and it is also susceptible to fluctuation in foreign currency.”

    Speaking on the training facilities and the recruitment process, he said: “The 10,000 police officers will not be trained in one place. We have training schools scattered around and we are going to group them into the six geo-political zones.

    “The training schools in a particular zone will  cater for the people in that zone and by doing that, I think we have been able to intervene as it concerns training and the intervention is still ongoing but I think the facilities there are good enough to welcome them into school.

    “The 10,000 that will be recruited are segmented. Some are going to be officers and it is clear that officers cannot train with recruits. “

    We should also know that some are going to be medical doctors, some are going to be engineers while some are going to be pilots. So, there are different categories of officers and so, they will not be   plunged together but the bulk of them are going to be constables because we have not recruited for the past five years.

    On the criteria and ensuring a transparent process, he said: “their age, educational qualification, height will be used and we also have to be sure that where they claimed they are from is true.

    He said: “some of those people uploading their credentials on the website now are 30 to 34 and they are too old. We will not take all those ones. They must adhere to the criteria given.

    “Do not be bothered with over 700,000 that have applied, a lot of them will be knocked out when the system starts the sorting process and there will also be exams which will be done at state level.”

     

     

     

     

  • Protest in Markurdi over Fulani killings

    Bushiness and commercial activities were grounded to a halt in Makurdi, Benue state capital following protest against Fulani herdsmen over continued killing of Benue farmers.

    The protesters who were over 300 in numbers took over the busy Makurdi- Gboko double carriage way and brought down Traffic for a halt for several hours.

    There was Traffic gridlock from Wurukum round about to Low level round about.

    Decked in colorful branded T-shirts on top of black jeans, heavy escorted security operatives made up of Mobile and regular policemen including armed men of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) match through major streets in Makurdi in the sorting sun.

    The branded T shirts and banners read. No more grazing in Benue, Stop the killings.

    The protesters were made up of students, social media activist, market women, Union leaders and farmers came under the umbrella of “Move Against Fulani Occupation (MAFO) .

    The protests who were peaceful in their conduct came across the 23 local government area particularly the areas which recently came under fulani attacked like Agatu, Tarkaa, Buruku, Logo,Makurdi and Guma local government areas .

    One of the protesters who spoke to The Nation Comradr Edward Dooga said they have decided to draw the attention of the international communities and the world over the continued killings by Fulani herdsmen, who also have occupied farmlands.

    Another social media activist who was among the protesters; Ukan Kulugh said there is eminent danger of food scarcity if the activities of the herdsmen are not checked saying  the herdsmen have  forcefully  occupied  about seven local government area s ,who the inhabitants are peasant farmers.

    Ukan Kulugh noted that why the inhabitants are taking refuge in primary schools as Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) Fulani herdsmen are grazing on their farm and have completely destroyed whatever crop is planted.

    At press time, the protesters were seen heading towards Government House Makurdi.

  • Fulani herdsmen, youths clash in Edo

    Fulani herdsmen, youths clash in Edo

    Attempts by irate youths of Okada community in Ovia North East local government to burn another camp housing some Fulani herdsmen at the weekend led to serious exchange of gun fires.

    It was gathered the youths were on a revenge attack following the killing of a 64-year- old farmer identified as Alex Idemitin at a bush near his farm.

    Idemitin was brutally killed with his neck sliced while he was reportedly stabbed in the stomach with several cutlass cuts all over his body last Thursday.

    He was stabbed in the stomach and had several machete cuts all over his body.

    His wife, Margaret, raised the alarm when her husband didn’t return home, leading to a search.

    His butchered body was later seen inside a bush.

    Unidentified persons set one of the herdsmen camps ablaze though residents were said to have fled before the incident.

    When they returned to another camp at the weekend, it was learnt that the Fulani herdsmen resisted them, reportedly firing sophisticated weapons.

    Though nobody was killed or injured in the attack, it was learnt the youths were jotted by the sophisticated weapons used by the herdsmen.

    They later protested through the streets of Okada community,  barricading major roads and causing heavy vehicular traffic.

    They set up bonfires and accused the police with other security agencies of allowing the herdsmen to possess dangerous weapons.

    The youths were dispersed with tear gas by a combined team of anti- riot policemen and soldiers.

    The protesters later gathered at the community Oguedion (shrine) where the elders declared their ancestral home was no longer safe.

    They claimed weapons in possession of the herdsmen were too sophisticated.

    One of the elders, Okundaye said: “We don’t want anybody to be killed again. The cattle rearers must go. They must leave Okada.”

    Another elder, Ewemade said: “We are not safe in Okada anymore. We now sleep with our eyes open.

    “The herdsmen can overrun this village overnight with the weapons we saw in their possession.”

    Divisional Police Officer in Okada, Francis Uwuzuruike, appealed for calm and assured that the killers would be fished out.

    He said the police would apprehend those with sophisticated weapons.

  • Patrons of Fulani herdsmen

    Who is going to stop the rampaging Fulani herdsmen?’ In case you don’t know who they  are, The Punch editorial of March 13, called our attention to the 2015 Global Terrorism Index, which named the Fulani militants not just ‘a terrorist group but the fourth deadliest in the world’. For its blood-thirsty exploits, it has to its credit the death of 1,229 lives in 2014 including 200 in Galadima in one day. Unfortunately, from the body language of those with the constitutional authority – the president, governors, police and even the military, it will appear we are not in a hurry to stop their deadly exploits and endless harvests of deaths.

    President Jonathan for the greater part of his presidency played the ostrich claiming even with his control of the awesome apparatus of state power, his administration was unable to determine if those behind the deadly attacks on helpless women and children in the Middle Belt were Fulani herdsmen. Long after his public endorsement by Alhaji Abdullahi Bodejo-led Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore for re-election in Aso rock, wearing Fulani herdsmen apparel and cap to match, Jonathan continued to deny the existence rampaging Fulani herdsmen.

    In 2015, the people of Egba village in Agatu Local Government of Benue claimed about 90 of their compatriots were killed by Fulani herdsmen. The then state police commissioner, Hyacinth Dagala, insisted ‘only 30 corpses were recovered’ as if that was a relief to the bereaved families. But neither for the 90 nor the 30 deaths was anyone apprehended or prosecuted. In May 2015, Governor Gabriel Suswan narrowly escaped an ambush by Fulani herdsmen. All a governor who could not protect himself or his citizens could do was to lament the fate of ‘displaced farmers and their family members who live in refugee camps in Otukpo, Ojantele, Ataganyi and Ugbokpo.’

     On March 5, Fulani herdsmen from Loco and Doma in Nasarawa State according to a news report, ‘in combat gears, armed with the trademark AK-47 rifles, invaded several villages and farm settlements in broad daylight, gunning down children, women, men and the elderly alike and from Aila to Obagaji, Akwu to Odejo, the invaders burned down houses, churches and police posts..’ The harvest of deaths that followed, according to Paul Ede, who led the coalition of protesting civil society groups to the National Assembly was about 400. The invaders after chasing out about 7000 farmers and their families from their homes took over the villages with their 5000 cows, a development the state police commissioner has since confirmed. Buratai, the Chief of Army staff on his part says “I have heard from the commander about the existence of criminal elements who engage in cattle rustling. The crisis here is unfortunate, the farmers and herdsmen fighting must not be condoned’. Of the attack, David Mark, who was Senate President for eight years while the crisis festered says – “Nothing whatsoever justifies this brazen act of destruction meted out on the people of Agatu. My heart bleeds.” He then went on to apply the usual PDP palliative – donating ‘mattresses, bags of rice, blankets, cooking oil cartons of noddles, large mats, magi cubes and cooking salt among others’. In all, little has been said of those who now live as refugees.

    The deadly terrorist group has since 2011 embarked in mindless killing of defenceless women and children in the Middle Belt. Between 2011 and 2014, they took over many of communities in the four local government areas of Guma, Gwer-East, Buruku and Gwer as well as Tom-Anyiin, Tom-Ataan, Mbaya and Tombu in Buruku Local Government Area of Benue. In 2013, the group was credited with mindless murder of about 60 women and children seeking refuge in church in Plateau state while those who went out for their funeral a few days later including serving senator, Gyang Dantong, and, Gyang Fulani, the Majority Leader of the Plateau State House of Assembly, were equally murdered.

    But the perpetrators of these heinous crimes cannot be ghosts since they often take possession of conquered territories. And if the police are looking beyond the heavily armed herdsmen who are said to be mere tools in the hands of the real owners of the cattle, they didn’t need to look far. Saleh Bayeri, the interim national secretary of Gan Allah Fulani association, an umbrella body of Fulani associations, provided the needed lead. While granting an interview to PREMIUM TIMES shortly after the attack, he had blamed the Agatu people for starting the crisis on April 20, 2013 when they invaded the compound of one Sehu Abdullahi where they killed him and carted away over 200 cows. The current hostility according to him started following the beheading of “a prominent Fulani leader, Ardo Madaki, who was invited to the palace of the district head of the area on the grounds that a solution is being sought to the problem,” I don’t think the police need any other tip if they want to find out the sponsors of the March 5 mindless killing.

    But why is it difficult to tame the Fulani herdsmen? Adejoh speaking to reporters recently seemed to have struck the nail on the head. The ‘herdsmen’, he says “ are not the owners; but are merely working for some rich big men who have refused to build ranches and use irrigation to grow grasses to feed their livestock; but chose to unleash  millions of their cows and herdsmen on the farmlands of poor and defenseless people of Benue”. And here lies the real tragedy. Both the herdsmen and defenceless farmers are victims of privileged elite who after sending their own children to the best schools in and out of the country, arm children of the less privileged to perpetrate heinous crimes against poor subsistence farmers. Those in authority are probably indifferent because it is poor against the poor.

    Ironically, using the poor as canon fodders by the elite is a common phenomenon across the federation.  In the South-west are the area boys and ‘okada’ riders who double as political thugs for those who promise them stomach infrastructure after mortgaging their future through years of misrule. From south-eastern states come thousands children of the poor who cannot read or write deployed to hawk substandard or fake imported products on the streets of our major cities. Of course they find their parallels in thousands of the children of the underprivileged, including ex-militant warlord, ‘General Tompolo Loaf’, who Pa Clark recently told us did not have enough education to secure government job, armed by self-serving advocates for ‘resource control’, to confront soldiers in the creeks or the Niger or police on the streets of Port Harcourt.

    In a federal structure, the federating units are in theory not inferior to one another or to the central government. But what we have now are states as private fiefdoms where individuals are richer than the states. We run a federation where Nasarawa cannot provide ranches for its herdsmen and where Benue State cannot protect the lives and properties of her citizens from rampaging lawless Nasarawa Fulani herdsmen. The sponsors of Fulani herdsmen who are rich, powerful individuals with power of patronage to decide who becomes governors, commissioners, ambassadors simply fill the vacuum.

    To ensure federating units are in a position to perform the most elementary of their functions-protection of life and properties of their citizens, we must restructure the federation. A strong Middle Belt with state and local police will be in a better position to secure lives and properties of its citizens. In 2011, Buhari made restructuring a campaign issue. He must not be distracted by the powerful forces who are beneficiaries of the current unviable structure. It is perhaps the only lasting legacy Buhari can bequeath on Nigeria.