The fresh Benue massacre

TRAGICALLY, stories of wanton killings are no longer news in Benue State. Recently, when yet another tragedy struck in Ukum Local Government Area (LGA) of the state, claiming the lives of at least 40 individuals, including a family of seven, this only fitted into the increasingly disturbing profile of the state as a theatre of bloodshed and a victim of Nigeria’s trying times. This particular clash happened amid previous clashes that involved two militia groups called Full Fire and Chain. They were both vying for dominance. The conflict, sired and stoked primarily by members of militia groups, soon went beyond the borders of the groups that lit the bonfire. Unfortunately, as the fire raged, the casualties multiplied, caught in the crossfire.

According to eyewitnesses, a Tiv militia leader in Ukum LGA had reportedly abducted one Alhaji Gana, a suspected Fulani militia leader. He was not alone in the abduction. His family members from the neighboring Chinkai community in Wukari LGA of Taraba State, who had acquired notoriety for involvement in banditry and kidnappings, were also abducted. The kidnappers later demanded a ransom of N100 million but only N5 million was successfully paid. Sadly, in consonance with the pattern of kidnapping and ransom demands in that part of the country, the hostages were killed upon the collection of the ransom.  This led to a council-wide outrage, especially in the circle of Gana’s associates in Taraba State. Thus, a retaliation plot was hatched, with another militia leader from Ukum joining forces with a Fulani militia gang from Taraba with the aim of battling the gang that took out Gana and establishing a giant supremacy in Ukum.

In a state that is fast becoming a huge victim of Nigeria’s violent conundrum, this is another sad episode. Benue has not known peace for many years and this is yet another tragedy of monumental proportions. It is an issue which the Chief Security Officer of the state, Governor Hyacinth Alia, should give more attention due to the patent possibilities that it could spike further intra and inter-group and fraternities’ violence. At a stage, the issue that provoked the crisis was solely between the locals and the so-called herders. But by the time the recent bloodshed happened, it had surpassed this level, becoming a spat between certain locals and others. Yet, Governor Alia seems to be preoccupied with political issues between him and certain godfathers in the state, showing scant interest in the collective wellbeing of the people. The clash of militia groups is a case in point. Recently, the governor accused the state chairman of his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), of bringing guns into the state and taking over the party’s secretariat. Politicising issues of security as this portends calamity for the state.

Widespread violence is a sure recipe for underdevelopment and in that situation, the state will witness acute scarcity of investors and developers. The current scenario cannot continue being the order of the day if development must take place. This is because violence can only compound the woes of the people who, like other Nigerians, are groaning as a result of their current excruciating economic situation.

Truth be told, the pervasiveness of violence, banditry and other criminal acts in any human environment, including the one under reference in Benue, is a pointer to the absence of real governance at all levels. This is particularly so at the level of the Federal Government. It is safe to say that virtually everything is in shambles in the country at the moment and virtually all its institutions are on their knees. With the economy tanking, with security agencies at their wit’s end and with nothing particularly working well, the addition of violence to the sorry state makes the situation dire. Imagine the fact that there is no government/security presence to prevent cults from not just existing and becoming formidable contraptions in the society, but growing to such an extent that they resort to willful killing of people across towns and villages with no repercussions. This is the Benue scenario and the graph it draws for the world to see.

We hasten to ask what kind of functional society can be run with the ascendancy of cult groups. Nigerians have to ask themselves critical questions about how they want to conduct public life if the current climate of violence and destruction is to stop. It would seem that whatever is called government and governance at the moment in the country cannot fit into a functional society. There is a critical need to address the present comprehensive failure of government at all levels and plan a more worthwhile system. Such a system would not make a virtue of violence and killing, nor would it reify everything that is wrong, as is being done in Benue State at the moment.

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