”Election days come and go. But the struggle of the people to create a government which represents all of us and not just the one per cent – a government based on the principles of economic, social, racial and environmental justice – that struggle continues”. Words of the American politician Bernie Sanders.
”To say Governor Yahaya Bello is desperate for a second term is, to say the least. The word desperate does not fully capture the tempo in Lugard House (Kogi State Government House) today coming from the latest utterances and body language of the Governor and his aids”. The words of my former Boss and now mentor when I first met after his return to Nigeria after 11 years away from the country on Monday.
Many analysts such as my Boss have described the activities of the Governor as running from pillar to post in a bid to get the ticket of his party the All Progressive Congress criticizing his rounds of visits to almost every prominent leader of the party in the last few weeks and calling it a hunt for endorsement.
A few days ago, a well-known farmer and community leader in Kogi was reportedly killed by suspected Fulani herdsmen, leading to the killing of some of the attackers in a reprisal attack by members of the community. The Police were said to have waded into the matter bringing calm to the affected areas.
In response to the sad news, the Governor as expected of his office being the Chief Security officer of the state reacted to the matter. I expected his Excellency would speak to calm the tension in the land but instead of calling for calm, Governor Yahaya Bello came on air and unfortunately took sides with one of the aggrieved groups and condemned the other. He, in a manner I believe is unfitting of a leader who is supposed to be a peacemaker, described the first attackers as the peace lovers while calling the second group killers. From that statement, it meant the government was on the side of the group labelled as the invaders in this matter and that in itself spells more doom than peace.
The Smell of Dead Bodies
I do not wish evil for my people but an African writer I believe is inclined to be a Prophet and a soothsayer to his generation. It is not news that there has been a precedence of killings in some parts of Benue and Kogi in which the same group of attackers are said to be responsible.
With my knowledge of the Herder – Farmer conflict that has ravaged these parts of the middle belt in the last few years, even an addicted optimist will expect nothing less than more bloodshed. This is not just because of the complexity of crisis but also because of the people involved in making it more complicated than it should be. Government at various levels have not shown the needed political will to end the conflict.
It is apparent that, other than the effect of climate change with precursor effect on the livelihoods of nomadic herders moving southward for grazing land, the persistent crisis has been also fuelled by political and ethnic politicking driven by propaganda about the desire of one group on a violent conquest and the other wanting to assert his fundamental rights to free movement as enshrined in 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Politicians have used these narratives to bait and to gain favour from certain groups they so wish. We saw Miyetti Allah come out to endorse politicians in past elections including former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan in 2015 and incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari before the 2019 general elections.
This is why I believe the seven days ultimatum to the four council administrators and traditional rulers where Fulanis were said to have been killed to fish out the perpetrators or risk losing their positions given by the Governor was not only political but ill-conceived.
I believe the Governor in a bid to please the powers in Abuja acted in a hurry as the people killed that led to the reprisals are not only his responsibility to protect but rightly citizens of Nigeria too. This is because; the governor was quoted to have said his administration would not condone killings of any citizen in the state under whatever guise.
Where was the Kogi State Governor when reports of killings of Kogi indigenes flooded the media:
‘’Ogga community in Yagba West Local Government Area of Kogi State has been attacked by some suspected Fulani herdsmen, killing one person’’.
Fulani herdsmen have killed 32 people in communities in Dekina and Omala Local Government Areas of Kogi State.
‘’At least ten people were killed as suspected Fulani herdsmen attacked Christian communities in Kogi state on Monday, 14 May (2018)
Like the great Haile Selassie once said ”Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who could have acted; the indifference of those who should have known better; the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most; that has made it possible for evil to triumph”.
The Ways Forward …
“I want the government to live up to its responsibilities. If anyone commits a crime, they should be arrested and dealt with. But when people see, think and feel they can get away with crime, it does not only embolden them to do more but encourages others as well. I want peace,”
a Fulani local official in Adamawa State said in an interview with Amnesty International.
I must also state that many of us see Bello’s intention to make Kogi safe for every Nigerian to live and we applaud him for that. As one who believes in the prerequisite of peace for nation-building and development, I do not subscribe to violence as a solution to any conflict situation. But we must come to a point where leadership is sensitive and not divisive. Other than taking a side because of political gains, the Governor can call for a commission of enquiry into the latest crisis with a view of finding a lasting solution to the issues. That way he would have absolved himself of any blame or bias.
Adanu Moses is a Staff Writer at Kogi Daily and writes from Abuja.
”To say Governor Yahaya Bello is desperate for a second term is, to say the least. The word desperate does not fully capture the tempo in Lugard House (Kogi State Government House) today coming from the latest utterances and body language of the Governor and his aids”. The words of my former Boss and now mentor when I first met after his return to Nigeria after 11 years away from the country on Monday.
Many analysts such as my Boss have described the activities of the Governor as running from pillar to post in a bid to get the ticket of his party the All Progressive Congress criticizing his rounds of visits to almost every prominent leader of the party in the last few weeks and calling it a hunt for endorsement.
A few days ago, a well-known farmer and community leader in Kogi was reportedly killed by suspected Fulani herdsmen, leading to the killing of some of the attackers in a reprisal attack by members of the community. The Police were said to have waded into the matter bringing calm to the affected areas.
In response to the sad news, the Governor as expected of his office being the Chief Security officer of the state reacted to the matter. I expected his Excellency would speak to calm the tension in the land but instead of calling for calm, Governor Yahaya Bello came on air and unfortunately took sides with one of the aggrieved groups and condemned the other. He, in a manner I believe is unfitting of a leader who is supposed to be a peacemaker, described the first attackers as the peace lovers while calling the second group killers. From that statement, it meant the government was on the side of the group labelled as the invaders in this matter and that in itself spells more doom than peace.
The Smell of Dead Bodies
I do not wish evil for my people but an African writer I believe is inclined to be a Prophet and a soothsayer to his generation. It is not news that there has been a precedence of killings in some parts of Benue and Kogi in which the same group of attackers are said to be responsible.
With my knowledge of the Herder – Farmer conflict that has ravaged these parts of the middle belt in the last few years, even an addicted optimist will expect nothing less than more bloodshed. This is not just because of the complexity of crisis but also because of the people involved in making it more complicated than it should be. Government at various levels have not shown the needed political will to end the conflict.
It is apparent that, other than the effect of climate change with precursor effect on the livelihoods of nomadic herders moving southward for grazing land, the persistent crisis has been also fuelled by political and ethnic politicking driven by propaganda about the desire of one group on a violent conquest and the other wanting to assert his fundamental rights to free movement as enshrined in 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Politicians have used these narratives to bait and to gain favour from certain groups they so wish. We saw Miyetti Allah come out to endorse politicians in past elections including former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan in 2015 and incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari before the 2019 general elections.
This is why I believe the seven days ultimatum to the four council administrators and traditional rulers where Fulanis were said to have been killed to fish out the perpetrators or risk losing their positions given by the Governor was not only political but ill-conceived.
I believe the Governor in a bid to please the powers in Abuja acted in a hurry as the people killed that led to the reprisals are not only his responsibility to protect but rightly citizens of Nigeria too. This is because; the governor was quoted to have said his administration would not condone killings of any citizen in the state under whatever guise.
Where was the Kogi State Governor when reports of killings of Kogi indigenes flooded the media:
‘’Ogga community in Yagba West Local Government Area of Kogi State has been attacked by some suspected Fulani herdsmen, killing one person’’.
Fulani herdsmen have killed 32 people in communities in Dekina and Omala Local Government Areas of Kogi State.
‘’At least ten people were killed as suspected Fulani herdsmen attacked Christian communities in Kogi state on Monday, 14 May (2018)
Like the great Haile Selassie once said ”Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who could have acted; the indifference of those who should have known better; the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most; that has made it possible for evil to triumph”.
The Ways Forward …
“I want the government to live up to its responsibilities. If anyone commits a crime, they should be arrested and dealt with. But when people see, think and feel they can get away with crime, it does not only embolden them to do more but encourages others as well. I want peace,”
a Fulani local official in Adamawa State said in an interview with Amnesty International.
I must also state that many of us see Bello’s intention to make Kogi safe for every Nigerian to live and we applaud him for that. As one who believes in the prerequisite of peace for nation-building and development, I do not subscribe to violence as a solution to any conflict situation. But we must come to a point where leadership is sensitive and not divisive. Other than taking a side because of political gains, the Governor can call for a commission of enquiry into the latest crisis with a view of finding a lasting solution to the issues. That way he would have absolved himself of any blame or bias.
Adanu Moses is a Staff Writer at Kogi Daily and writes from Abuja.
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