Benue’s descent into anarchy

SOME major cities across the country wore  gloomy looks on Tuesday as the Catholic community thronged the streets in black attires and cassocks. Amidst effusive displays of candour, the laity led by archbishops grieved over the April 14 killing of two priests and 17 parishioners by suspected gunmen that invaded the St. Ignatius Quasi Parish, Mbalom, in Benue State.  Adherents of Islamic and traditional religions also sympathised with the plight of Benue people.

The entire Catholic community was united in expressing its loss of faith in the Federal Government, which it accused of bias, incompetence and insensitivity over the carnage and arson being perpetrated by suspected armed herdsmen. The renewed pledge by the Federal Government through the vice president, Professor Yemi  Osinbajo, to ensure justice in the matter proved sufficient to calm frayed nerves over the horrendous actions of the herdsmen that have claimed 492 lives since January this year.

Broadly speaking, the geometric rise in the number of casualties underlines the horrendous nature of the Benue tragedy. The herders have sustained their violent attacks and arson in parts of the state regarded as Nigeria’s food basket because of its rich farming culture. More than 175,000 people have been turned into refugees in their fatherland, and the attendant humanitarian hazards are proving too hard to bear. The Benue crisis is most poignant because the killings have continued despite ongoing military operations and paramilitary networks in the area, a trend that is indicative of both the obduracy and lack of conscience of those behind the carnage and their sponsors, and the failure of the state to offer protection to its citizens.

We believe that the April 14 carnage is a frightening twist to the raging bestiality in Benue. The church/mosque should remain a sanctuary deserving of all honour and reverence. The attack is an act of sacrilege, and poses grave danger to the country given, in particular, the passion that most Nigerians attach to their faith. Government, without hesitation, must act convincingly to douse the smouldering flame. However, there cannot be peace until there is clear justice in any society. Those bloodthirsty herders who have almost turned Benue into a slaughter slab must be immediately fished out and brought to justice. The country found itself in its current predicament by condoning impunity, the rule of thumb and the ignoble mentality of might is right even in matters pertaining to the sanctity of human lives.

The message of the Catholic community on the Benue massacre, like the majority of Nigerians insist, is loud and clear: it is high time the government reviewed the nation’s security architecture. As the proverb goes, only a fool would continue to apply the same medication that has consistently failed to cure an ailment fast becoming a malignant growth. The operators of the security architecture appear overwhelmed by the current challenges and need more competent personnel with proven capacity to think outside the box. This is how the quest to rescue the country from the edge of the precipice can succeed.

The heartless armed herders need a rescue from their current insanity and a connection to civilised global practices and standards of cohabitation and existence, otherwise the fate of even the 2019 general election that is already generating a frenzy across the country hangs in the balance, if it is not imperilled altogether. A lot of Nigerians are becoming too apprehensive, losing confidence in the capacity and ability of the Nigerian state to guarantee the fundamental objectives and principles of government as elucidated in the constitution. The government has failed Benue people and must atone for that failure by stopping the killings and helping the healing process in the land.