A few years ago, Nigeria’s former Military Head of State, Dr Yakubu Gowon, spoke the following surreal words concerning the often-frequent carnage and brutal murders of innocent citizens in Benue State and around Nigeria:
“What we are witnessing today is not too different from what happened during my administration as head of state…. We need to pray and work with the government to ensure that this ugly cycle of violence comes to an end so that the unity of Nigeria is not threatened. It is, therefore, imperative for the government to deal with the spate of violence sweeping through the country so that this country can remain as one united entity.”
What is going on in Benue State between herders and citizens of the state is nothing but a senseless, ruthless and ravaging rage that has claimed about 1,200 lives of men, women and babies between May 2023 and May 2025. Last weekend, about 200 people were reportedly mowed down by these herdsmen. A few days earlier, 45 others were gruesomely killed in another community. Unfortunately, government after government in Nigeria has not found a solution to the metastasising butchery and bloodbath going on for aeons.
The ruthless rampage is always from cold-blooded Fulani herders who butcher men, women, and children while they’re asleep. A few times, radiance from the rising sun in broad daylight emboldens them as they snuff life out of helpless citizens. The madness of these herders from hell is all over Nigeria. And no one will hedge them.
While playing host to the Commander-In-Chief, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a few days ago, the supreme traditional leader of the Tiv people, the Tor Tiv V, James Ayatse, profusely expressed that the killings in Benue State were not clashes between herders and farmers, but a planned attack aimed at taking over the land. “We do have grave concerns about the misinformation and misrepresentation of the security crisis in Benue State. Your Excellency, it’s not herders-farmers clashes, it’s not communal clashes, it’s not reprisal attacks or skirmishes… The wrong diagnosis will always lead to the wrong treatment… We are dealing with something far more sinister than we think. It’s not about learning to live with your neighbours; it is dealing with a war.” Ayatse said.
But Nigerians have seen and experienced these Fulani killers in action. These herders, armed with sophisticated weaponry, move around to find food for their cattle, bringing them into conflict with the owners of farms who complain that the cattle trample their crops and pollute water sources. We also heard that climate change-induced desertification and irregular rainfall patterns in Nigeria’s northern regions compel herders to migrate southward, including the North-Central region, Benue State. Who, for Pete’s sake, are these killers? They’re from a miry mix. They are products of calumnious compromise, calculated conspiracy, and Irking impunity.
The Leviathan lawlessness and brazen banditry some see, and others hear about, are indications of the complacency and insensate attitudes of men in charge of our security. Characters behind the monstrous menace remain largely elusive. We see pictures and hear audio of a few of the foot soldiers who do the unleashing of violence. In places like my hometown of Imesi-Ile and its bordering small towns in the South-West, the attackers were Fulani herdsmen. A few were apprehended by the locals. In other spots around the nation, the hirelings came with big AK47s, strapped on masks and took over our highways.
Ignoring the root of a problem is an offered license and liberty for its thriving and flourishing. We still don’t know the demons loading up these thugs with AK-47s. We don’t know who fuels and eggs them on with cash and food supplies. The big fish who sponsor them we know not yet. If Nigerian security men know the characters behind the terror acts, they’re not telling. And despite the billions of naira splurged on defending a defenceless nation with porous, leaky borders, the marauders continue to have a field day.
According to BudgIT Nigeria, a civic tech organisation focused on promoting transparency and accountability in public finance in Nigeria, the country set aside a whopping budget sum of N3.85tn (approximately $5.13bn) for security in its 2024 Budget. This represents a significant increase of 37.99 per cent compared to the N2.79tn allocated in 2023. Nothing seems to be working.
In 2018, a joint task force was set up to root out these people. Just last month, Forest guards were initiated to secure forest reserves from criminals and terrorists. Can we rule out religion as a factor in the unending war? Who knows? Fulanis are mostly Muslim, while the farming communities in Benue are Christian. It was once a collective assumption that a Fulani man at the helm of presidential affairs was a factor for the ease with which the herders unleashed mayhem on the nation. But that narrative has changed with the election of Tinubu, a Muslim from the southwestern part of Nigeria, as president.
It will be recalled that a few years ago, 300 bandits on motorbikes rode through Kirtawa village in Sanfana Local Government Area in Katsina State. This is the home state of former President Muhammadu Buhari. With utter disrespect for the former President, the bandits sent at least 10 people to their early graves. They then took the challenge to the police and the army, shooting at them with audacity and demobilising their already dysfunctional operational functionalities.
Is anarchy not already in Benue? Many believe it is. I am in their league. These are all signs of a state in anarchy. People can feel it.
We can all hear its frightening footfalls thriving at its pit in Nigeria. What is anarchy? It is simply the obliteration of hierarchy; a flagrant and audacious disruption of order; and an unmitigated unleashing of disorder and dishevelment. In anarchy, guns find their way like candy bars into the hands of garroting goons. And vile men with surreal swagger rob and kidnap with authority over territories under constituted authorities. Is anarchy here? If the image I see is what you see, and the sound I hear is what you hear around Nigeria today, you bet it is.
In warfare and guerrilla war, a guessing game is an invitation to tragedy. In warfare, there are distracting decoys. And chasing decoys is chasing shadows. Bandits who rob, kidnap and kill abound in Nigeria. That is what obtains in an anarchy. We hope that our President will bring an end to this shenanigan.
X-@FolaOjotweet
