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| The lifeless body of the 19 people murdered by the Fulani in Gwre East at the early hours of Tuesday |
If I had a chance, I will run and never return, not as a coward but as a combatant who understands that not all dawn must wake with clanging spears. If I had a tear to spare, I would cry for the dead lost and forgotten, but see I'm not done mourning the lot of the dying. Have you seen the man whose throat was slit open by some unthinking men, or the pregnant women who had their intestines gouged out? What of the kids burnt alive and the over 70 killed in a night by these faceless beings? Perhaps you read it in the news but we had the opportunities of seeing those innocent men lying dead and lifeless. We are all victims here... The night comes to us with terror of roving men capable of any imaginable evil. The day comes with too many uncertainties that you question who your neighbours truly is.
I remember some of my teenage years when I stood in awe of the Fulani cattle herds. They seldom stop by to take chilled water, sometimes even with good garri or food. Although, their English is usually simple and incoherent, we still sit in silence surrounded with an air of admiration. Many times I stare at their sheathed sword and wondered how like Bible David, would stop lions or any trespassing beasts. I never knew that one day, that sword will shed so much blood of many innocent souls. I never knew. Now the next sight of Fulani feels me with terror, fear, hatred, anger and bitterness. I know it shouldn't be so... Yes I really do know. Not all of them are necessarily bad, some of them still have that simple and good heart. But then, do I have a valid choice to think or act otherwise? We are all feeling beings and it will be totally unacceptable if I laugh heartily with the same tribe that killed my brothers. No! This is a declaration of war! This is unfair, unjust, unallowed. Even God in all is sovereignty is still careful in his judgement to avoid injustice. I will mourn but will they stop? No, they are beasts, monkeys, gorillas, and death for them will mean a whole lot of unsolicited mercy.
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| One of the victims of Fulani Rampaging Killers |
However, whose fault is it really? The guys indoctrinated into these heartless culture of murder by misguided fanatics? Or those hopeless foreigners transported from other countries to destroy the only place we can call home? Or the so called custodians of peace and security aiding the testimonies of their obnoxious visions or the seemingly honest messiahs in the seat of power whose ultimate dream is to either usurp the present administration or retain their contemporary influence? Wait who is to blame here? The handicapped military, the hypocritical government, the satanic maniacs of evil, the unperturbed common man on the street? Whose fault is it? Why are we so gone with this darkness?
Everyone has failed the golden past of our dear nation and the promises of a progressive posterity all together. We have failed but today is not the day for scapegoatism. Today I only want to reevaluate the persistent silence of the government. Buhari has failed all Nigerians not just because of his inabilities to actualize all his good sociopolitical developmental projects, but his uninterrupted consistency in his negligence to the cries and pleas of the masses.
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| President Buhari |
This year (2nd of January, 2018), Nigerians woke up to yet another very saddening news. 73 had been murdered in Guma LGA in Benue State here. I had a friend serving as a corp member there. Thank goodness my friend was on holiday and he had gone back in the West. But wait, how about the Corp member who was literarily slaughtered in that genocide? How about the children? How about that pregnant woman? You don't get to see the corpses but you will not likely miss it on the news. But what did the government say? What did Buhari say? NOTHING!!!!
Only a faint unconvincing phrase of condolence. No tears, no empathizing visitation, not even when they were buried in their non befitting coffins at the IBB square in Makurdi. Where was Buhari and Osinbanjo? Probably away in foreign lands cruising their privileges as number one citizens. I was in Benue when he came three months after the monumental death and all he could do is to shift blame on the Inspector General. He said the man disobeyed his order to come straight away down to the troubled scene? Wonders shall never end really! I thought he was the president and what happens to men who do their own biddings at the expense of the President's command? In Nigeria it is promotion, praises and accolades in case you don't know!
Obviously, his coming down to Benue after 3months is not to empathize with the people, he can't feel your pains at all. He is so untouched, unreached and unmoved by the suffering of the common man. He and his caucuses are cushioned behind the high protective walls of Aso Rock. They can't here your noises at all. All they want is to recapture Nigeria come 2019. They want to devise other pranks, that will ensure their reelection seeing that “Say Change” is now unfavourably obsolete.
Almost everyday this week, people have been killed like flies in cold blood. 18 people coming from morning Mass on Tuesday morning at Gwre East, 11 on Wednesday innocently sleeping only to meet their death so unexcpected, 7 in church on Thursday and the tragedies is still on an exponential increase. This time around, the presidency has forgotten to issue any statement offering his heartfelt condolences. I read in the news this evening that he is travelling to United States to have a meeting with Donald Trump? For your information, Trump won't help Nigeria, he's got the United State sinking economy to revive, he's got the ISIS and Al Qaeda as his top priorities in mind because those ones are not just international in operations but are direct threats to the American soil. I suspect that the last military aid the United State offered ended up frustrated when they probably realised how much of these wickedness is politically and religiously inclined. People are dying and this man is leaving... I think he travelled last week. He most likely see Trump at the UN submit right where he lambasted the hustling youths with the an intercontinental embarrassment? He travelled last month, he travelled two months ago, last year, he spent more 100 days abroad. So where is this man running around. Maybe he is seeking an international audience or to build a strong international network of top dignitaries for himself when he eventually leaves office? That I can't say for sure. But never have I seen a government so irresponsive, and insensitive to the people, their challenges, their pains
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| Another victim of the Fulani herdsmen |
110 Dachi girls were abducted by Boko Haram early this year. 104 were returned, 4 died and Leah the only Christian among them is still in captivity. He was so concern and all negotiations went well until all Muslims girls were released. What about our sister Leah? No, he was so happy that he even snapped with his 104 Muslim sisters forgetting that one other innocent girl is still missing. Is it that the life of that girl is less important compared to the other girls, or her faith is subservient of his own almighty devotion? No, he has given up and the fate of that girl is totally for the Boko terrorists to decide. Not that he has only done nothing to rescue Leah, he was never concern about that innocent girl. If he has, how come he never moved a thread towards that direction ever since. O God of mercy, who is this man that can remain so calm in the face of gross injustices and unfairness? And we say we have a government? No we don't? We never had one even in the past and we definitely have none now. Only a successive reign of kleptomaniacs or religious bigots.
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| Coffins of the 73 people murdered by the Fulani sects on 2nd January this yesr |
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| A victim of Fulani Herdsmen who has his intestines gouged out |
Indeed, these are trying times. Forget what the optimists had said, Nigeria is not likely to get well soon. Not that we can't, but we won't. The problem of Nigeria is not one man ruling in his overflowing garment of affluence, the problem of Nigeria is the entrenchment of that egocentric mindset in the psyche of every citizens. The beautiful ones may never come if they are born into this already perilous world.
MY ADVICE
However, I have an advise for Buhari and other administrative arms of the government. To stop the Boko boys from destroying the collective relevance of the state, to put a lasting end to the Fulani rampaging killers. This is simple. Declare war on these sects! Enter into a serious battle, let Nigerians go to war. Equipped the common men with working defense mechanism. Set up barracks in all troubled zones and mount checking points in every linking States’ and cities’ roads. Install military instructors who will train the farmers how to fight. Call all Nigerians to war. Let Fulani herdsmen realise that their victims are no longer the chickens they once snapped their heads with a simple pull of the trigger. Let them know that the common man has metamorphosed into a giant man. Until the wicked begin to fear the good man, he will never stop raiding his house. Give them guns, empower them by building fortresses in this threatened state. This peaceful negotiation will need us no where but more sociopolitical crises.
Is this feasible in our contemporary Nigeria? YES! I understand you are contextualizing my proposed solution in a modern day democracy and its plausibility. I guess you also think if this aforementioned prognoses are actualized, how will those privileged to own guns not misappropriate them seeing the overt social decadence we are living in.
Though my fears are not in that direction at all. After all, so many arm robbers, thieves, etc are in secured and unchallenged possession of guns. Fulani herdsmen and Book Haram are in possession of not just guns but many sophisticated weapons of mass destruction. If those guys are so endowed with such flourishing armory, then the masses deserves a workable means of protection.
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| Nigeria military reportedly razing houses down with flames |
If you have failed to protect the people, let them defend themselves at the face of attack. The military might want to parade some of their past victories in this direction, but how many times can they boast of being prompt at the happening scene. The recent killing at Gwre East where 19 people we're slaughtered in cold blood for example, the military responded only after at least 24 hours of the incidence. They were rather too late and these heartless murderers were not just successful but had a enough time to escape to their hoods unrestrained.
My real fear is not empowering the people to defend themselves,my real fear is that the military is most likely compromised. They provide unannounced aids to these terrorists. Can you say their is hope for such a nation where the Messiahs are the bound master? You said yes? Let me know why.
Buhari has failed to brand the Fulani herdsmen as terrorists and this explains his lackadaisical approach to the plight of the TIV people in Benue, Taraba and Nasarawa. After all, he is a fulani himself so how can he brand his own kinsmen such a disheartening name. They are TERRORISTS.
As far as I'm concerned anyway.
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| Nigerian military on the move |
But the question is, is there still any hope for this country consistently plundered by this sacrilegious conspiracy of sanctimonious bigots? Is there really any hope at all?
BY
© OLATUJA OLOYEDE
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