By Fred Nwaozor
The popular warning for men to ‘make hay while the sun shines’
would only be considered reasonable and rational when there’s still hay left in
the bushes and every arena where it is usually found. Of course, you can only
be conscientised to grab something on time when the stuff in question is still
available.
Over the
years, several communities across the federation had been subjected to untold
hardship and seeming perpetual torture by Fulani herdsmen. I can’t forget in a
hurry that virtually all the states in Nigeria
This
domineering and nonchalant idiosyncrasy of these armed herdsmen who parade
themselves with unspeakable ammunition was arguably overlooked by the
government and other concerned authorities, not until they recently unleashed
an astonishing terror on the people of Nimbo Community in Uzo-Uwani Local
Government Area of Enugu State; an attack that left in its trail tears and
blood. In the crisis, which occurred on Monday, April 25, 2016, scores were
found dead, countless persons maimed, about a hundred residents injured,
several houses and churches razed, thereby rendering over 2,000 dwellers
homeless.
The
incident might have come and gone, it is imperative to acknowledge that the
peril it inflicted on the living victims is unarguably an experience they will
all live to recall. Each time I recollect that a certain community in Enugu
State sometime in the history of this country woke one morning only to be
brutally taken unawares by a group of total strangers, I invariably take solace
in the ‘notion’ that it could be a mere dream.
Obviously, the deed has already been done. Instead of indulging in
retrogressive discourse or debate, the most logical and viable thing to do at
this point is to concentrate on the way forward. In a situation like this,
having taken a formidable step towards checking recurrence, the next most
reasonable action to take is to harmonise the atmosphere or the ties binding
the affected persons or groups.
