Plateau: Preventing another massacre

oonI was moved to tears as I read in the Nigerian Tribune the suspected herdsmen attack on Barakin-Ladi and Riyom local government areas of Plateau State recently. The police confirmed 86 people dead with over 50 houses burnt.

The apex body of all Berom associations, the Berom Educational and Cultural Organisation (BECO) said no fewer than 150 people were killed. The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) claims that over 200 people were killed.

The number of people killed is as important as the sanctity of human life. For the love of God, when will this end? Every time such killings occur, we hear the usual which is condemnation of our leaders and then the killings happen again. I’m pained and saddened by this. It is not enough that our leaders condemn this. They should do the needful in providing security across the nation. When will all these end?

We know this kind of menace has happened before (for example, 2013), but it was never this gruesome. Never in the history of Nigeria has life been this cheap! This menace was also on a high in 2016 and it was later brought to an end.

What are the solutions we applied in 2016 that we have failed to apply in 2018 and what are the solutions we applied in 2016 that have failed us in 2018?

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The economic loss from these killings is put at more than N4 trillion. More than 500 people have been killed in 2018. From Birnin Gwari to Benue, Plateau to Zamfara, herdsmen, armed bandits and cattle rustlers have distinctively left trails of blood and anguish.

These killings have to end. But it definitely will not bring back the lives lost, the properties destroyed, the limbs cut, the families shattered and the communities destroyed. My heart bleeds for our country. Yet, I must state that we can put an end to this insecurity if we sincerely want to do so. Nigeria can be great again. We should not allow politicians to continue to divide us. We must ensure unity of purpose if we want to make our nation great again.

• Adeyemi Abiodun, [email protected]