The
popular saying that warns ‘make hay while the Sun shines’ would only be
considered reasonable and rational when there’s still hay left in the bushes as
well as every arena where it’s usually found. Of course, you can only be
conscientized to grab something on time when the stuff in question is still
available.
For years now, several communities across
Nigeria had been subjected to an untold hardship and seemingly perpetual
torture by the so-called Fulani herdsmen. I can’t forget in a hurry that
virtually all the states in Nigeria have tasted at least a bit of this venom at
one time or the other. The aforesaid set of farmers, rather than acting as
guests while breeding their livestock, end up constituting evitable nuisance in
their various host communities.
This
domineering and nonchalant idiosyncrasy of these armed herdsmen who parade
themselves with unspeakable ammunitions and weapons has overtime been arguably
overlooked by the government and other concerned authorities. Two years ago,
precisely on Monday 25th April 2016, a certain group of herdsmen unleashed
an astonishing terror on the people of Nimbo Community in Uzo-Uwani Local
Government Area (LGA) of Enugu State; an attack that ushered in an unimagined
massacre. In the said crisis, reportedly scores feared dead, countless persons
maimed, about a hundred residents injured, several houses cum churches razed,
thereby rendering over two thousand dwellers homeless.
Though
the incident may have come and gone, it’s imperative to acknowledge that the
peril it inflicted on the living victims is unarguably an experience they will
all live to recall. Myself, 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.
As if that wasn’t enough, that of Nimbo
never marked the end of the crisis as we anticipated; rather, it transcended to
other states. Recently, it seemed Benue State had abruptly become the
headquarters of the cruel herdsmen. Before now, no week that came on board we
wouldn’t hear that a certain part of the state had been attacked by them.
The last time I checked, the herdsmen
imbroglio was occurring ubiquitously in the country that it required only a
severe and drastic measure towards addressing it. Relocating the office of the
Inspector General of Police (IGP) to Benue State might be a step in solving the
menace but can never be the complete remedy to it. First, the Federal
Government (FG) must be very sincere about how it goes about this. If the
Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) could be proscribed by the government, I wonder
why this set of militias operating in disguise as herdsmen should be spared.
It
is also appalling that till date, the Presidency is yet to address the Nigerian
state concerning a situation that has eaten deep into our bone marrow. It’s
worth noting that the continuous silence of Mr. President signals a great
danger to the teeming Nigerians that are looking up to his person.
However, it’s noteworthy that it isn’t all
the herdsmen that are brutal. The vandals are some of them who unnecessarily intend
to unleash terror on their host communities, probably owing to one or two
frivolous reasons. To this end, the bad eggs must be fished out via the effort
of the leadership of the herdsmen’s coalition, and thereafter brought to book.
The relevant law enforcement agents ought to take this step very seriously.
Nigerians aren’t just yearning for mere arrest but to adequately prosecute
these suspected terrors in our midst.
I’m strongly of the view that the best way to
holistically solve any existing anomaly is to duly ascertain its fundamental
cause(s), and this very one isn’t exceptional. Hence, I enjoin the apt
authorities such as the Police, in collaboration with other relevant agencies,
to embark on a rigorous finding with a view to ensuring that they ascertain the
prime origin of the ongoing state of unrest. In addition, governments at all
levels should variously set up committees to look into this aspect.
Town
hall meetings equally ought to be randomly scheduled to sensitize the general
public on their civic responsibilities in this regard as well as to give the
affected host communities a sense of belonging. We must note that we can’t
completely unravel this state of quagmire without employing Community Policing,
which would be thoroughly effective and efficient only if the entire dwellers
are carried along. We mustn’t take any action without involving the potential
victims of the mayhem.
There’s
also need for us, especially the security agents, to headlong stop inserting
‘Fulani’ whenever we intend to speak or write on anything pertaining to the
herdsmen; we must take into cognizance that anyone could be a herdsman
regardless of his/her place of origin. Besides, anyone who intends to hurt you
might come in disguise as anything; needless to reiterate that someone or a
group that had been longing to terrorize you, may decide to hide under the
guise of herdsmen. Thus, we must be thoroughly guided on how we go about the so
called Fulani herdsmen.
Among all, henceforth Cattle owners need
to be mandated to own ranches within their respective jurisdictions, so that,
their herdsmen would desist from defacing the outlook of our various major roads
cum farms as it is invariably found whenever they migrate with their cattle. In
other words, grazing or colony cannot remedy the plight.
I
can’t round off this critique without reminding the various governments on the
need to embark on a massive compensation programme that would touch the lives of
all the families affected from the onset across the federation. Let’s make hay
while the Sun shines now it (hay) is still available in the various bushes.
Think about it!
Comrade FDN Nwaozor
Executive Director, Docfred Resource Hub -
Owerri
__________________________________
frednwaozor@gmail.com
Twitter: @mediambassador 
