By Julius Oweh
The recent unprovoked
killings of some people in Enugu State by suspected Fulani herdsmen despite the
information given to the police and other security operatives by the state
governor is another ugly chapter of the sordid saga of some herdsmen operating
under the veneer of terrorism. The implications are grave for the
corporate existence and unity of the nation. It is beyond mere transfer of the
state police commissioner. All those in position of authority either by their
action or inaction that led to the genocide should be sanctioned with the
relevant laws of the land. These brutality, lawlessness and terrorism can no
longer be tolerated as the occupational hazards of some pastoralists.
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| *Enugu State Governor, Mr. Ugwuanyi, visiting the scene massacre in Nimbo |
This is a trying
period for the Buhari administration. A lot of noise is currently polluting the
media space whether these terrorists are Fulani or not. The issue is whether
they are Isoko herdsmen, Yoruba herdsmen or Ijaw herdsmen, the law should be
applied and the government should not give us the faintest impressions that
some people are above the law. The Northern Governors Forum recently
issued a statement about the menace of herdsmen and argued that it was an
insult to state that the herdsmen are Fulani. They also maintained that they
were not comfortable with generalisations of the activities of these herdsmen.
The greater insult is
that by that statement, the northern governors are putting the unity and
corporate existence of this country under great strain. Criminality should be
condemned for what it is and should not be given cover because of ethnic
affiliations. This is not the first time the Fulani herdsmen are committing
havoc in the nation. They did that in the south west, the killings in Benue State and recently in Delta State
And until these people
see the implications of what these messengers of death are doing, we shall
continue to witness the murderous activities of these herdsmen in bid to
protect their cattle. In their twisted philosophical formulation, their cattle
are more important than human lives. A civil war is brewing in the cauldron and
this is time for the government to act. I do not want to believe that Buhari is
not taking tough action because those involved are his kinsmen. I am also not
persuaded by the argument that the Fulani herdsmen are trying to complete the
expansionist ambition of Uthman Dan Fodio. Nigeria
