Some politicians have been accused of purposefully politicising the state’s security crisis and allegedly wishing for the situation to worsen by the Tor Tiv V and Benue State Traditional Council Chairman, James Ayatse.
The traditional leader decried what he described as “political games” being played at the expense of human lives during a stakeholder meeting with President Bola Tinubu, who was present in the state to support the victims of the recent Yelewata massacre in Makurdi on Wednesday.
Our Excellency, you have an apprehension about how the crisis has been politicised. State politicians are busy politicizing the situation and transferring blame instead of cooperating.
Some politicians, as we’ve heard, even say they would prefer that the situation get worse so that Benue State can declare a state of emergency.
This is unfortunate, your Excellency. The people of Benue State are opposed to any politician who asks for more people to die in support of such a project, according to Ayatse.
Calculated Genocide:
The traditional ruler also criticized the region’s current narratives, calling on the Federal Government to acknowledge the real nature of the killings.
“We are deeply concerned about the misinformation and misrepresentation of the security crisis in Benue,” he said.
It is not a herders-farmers’ clashes, a communal clash, or a skirmish, your Excellency. This false information has led to phrases like “stay tolerant,” “negotiate for peace,” or “learn to live with your neighbors.”
Herder-terrorists and bandits’ “what we are dealing with here in Benue is a calculated, well-planned, full-scale genocidal invasion and land-grabbing campaign that has been going on for decades and is worsening every year.”
The phrase “wrong diagnosis always leads to incorrect treatment. We are therefore dealing with a far greater sin than we frequently acknowledge.
[PHOTOS] Benue Killings: Tinubu Visits Sick Victims At Teaching HospitalAyatse further urged Tinubu to act decisively, noting that Benue had sacrificed a lot to promote national unity.
“I make an appeal to Benue State, whose many sacrifices have kept this nation united,” my Excellency. During the Civil War, many of our citizens perished. To keep this nation united, we paid the ultimate price. Why should this be our way of life? he inquired.
One of a string of state massacres that you have come to condole today is what you have said. What has Benue State done to merit the current situation?
We ask that you put an end to the genocide occurring in Benue State and the insecurities throughout Nigeria. You are capable of doing it, sir, we are aware of that. You can bring peace to Benue State.
Our farmers have been forced to leave their farms, he added. There is a challenge of food insecurity and hunger. Give us only one thing: “Give us peace so that our people can return to their farms and continue to produce food.”
Tinubu Visits Victims
Around 12:58 p.m., President Tinubu made an earlier visit to the Tactical Air Command, the Nigerian Air Force Base in Makurdi, before making a visit to the victims of the Yelewata attack, which claimed more than 59 lives.
The President convened a high-level stakeholder meeting in Benue State Government House’s new banquet hall following the hospital visit.
Governor Hyacinth Alia, Nuhu Ribadu, the governor’s representative from the North-Central region, George Akume, the secretary to the government of the Federation, service chiefs, governors, and key members of the National Assembly all attended the meeting.
Prior to the state government’s announcement, the state government had declared a day of public holiday in honor of the president’s visit.
Source: Channels TV
Leave a Reply