When The People Speak

Injury to one is an injury to all is a popular saying. Often, we use this cliché without really knowing the depth of its meaning. However, last Tuesday’s action of catholic faithful across the country has helped many people appreciate the statement.
Following the directives of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), members of the Catholic Church embarked on a nationwide prayer and peaceful protest to register their displeasure over the killing of two priests and 17 other members of the church by suspected herdsmen in Ayar Mbalom Community in Gwer East Local Government Area of Benue State last month.
Recall that on the 24th of April, 2018, Rev Fr Joseph Gor, Fr Felix lyolaha, two school head teachers, a secondary school principal and 14 others were murdered by the marauders during the morning mass.
The solidarity procession which was preceded by requiem mass in almost all the dioceses happened the same period the victims were being buried in Benue State. How wonderful it was for the church to identify with her bereaved members and other victims of senseless killings that have been going on in the country for so long! It truly depicts that we are one, irrespective of our tibe and tongue.
It is unfortunate that ours has become a country that no longer has regard for the sacredness and sanctity of human life. Violence and killings are daily perpetrated without recourse to the laws of the land. From a group of stick – wielding pastoralists, living essentially nomadic life, the Fulani herdsmen have metamorphosed into arms bearing fighting force killing people with impunity. Yet, we are in a country that criminalizes illegal possession of arms.
Worrisomely, the security agents and the Federal Government seem incapacitated to handle the ugly situation while the death toll keeps rising.
Statistics released by the global human rights watchdog, Amnesty International, few days ago, indicated that clashes between herdsmen and farmers in Adamawa, Benue, Taraba, Ondo and Kaduna States in January this year resulted in over 268 deaths. The report further showed that between January and May this year, 549 deaths were recorded in Enugu, Benue, Taraba, Zamfara, Kaduna, Plateau, Nasarawa, Niger, Cross Rivers, Adamawa, Katsina, Delta and Ekiti States in 2018. Some people even believe that the casualty figures for the period under review is higher than what the statistics presented.
It is, therefore, hoped that the nationwide outcry by the catholic faithful and other well meaning Nigerians, both within and outside the country, will compel those in authority and the security agencies to find ways of putting an end to the menace. It is high time the Federal government took a decisive action on the atrocities being committed by the herdsmen. Nobody should be above the law no matter their social class, religious or ethnic leaning. There is no way we can prevent the reoccurrence of the inhuman act if the marauders are not arrested and prosecuted in accordance with the law.
At this critical time when people are being encouraged to go into farming to ensure availability of food in the country and to curtail food importation, herdsmen should not be allowed to empty their cattle into cultivated farmlands and destroy crops and farmlands. Nigeria should tow the line of the developed countries who keep their animals in ranches. In no advanced country can you see cattle roaming freely on the properties of other people and causing problem for their countries.
Governments at all levels, as well as cattle owners, should join hands in establishing ranches and grazing reserves across the country and adopt other strategies to enable herdsmen settle to modern system of livestock farming.
As the Catholic Bishop of Port Harcourt, Most Rev Camillus Etokudoh, prayed during the Tuesday’s requiem mass, “Our plea to the government of Nigeria is for them to know that life is sacred and that it is the responsibility of the government to protect life and property. The barbarisms in our country must stop. We want peaceful coexistence among all Nigerians. We do not want our politicians and religious leaders to divide us along the fragile political affiliations and ethnic nationalities or religious divides”.

Calista Ezeaku