Former Lagos state Governor, Bola Tinubu, has finally spoken on herdsmen killings nationwide.
Tinubu,
in a paper he delivered at the Daily Trust dialogue, urged government
to establish a relief and rehabilitation program for families and
communities that have been so grievously harmed.
Represented by a
former Commissioner for Finance in Lagos State, Olawale Edun, Tinubu
specifically lamented the “terrible killings” that have occurred in
Benue and Taraba states.
He said “It is important that we place
the current crisis in proper context. No one should pretend that this
evil just suddenly appeared from nowhere. We have been living and dying
with this lethal situation for many years.
In years past, there have been herdsmen attacks smaller than this. There also have been attacks larger than this.
The
current hue and cry against these killings is hopefully a sign that we
are maturing as a nation. That we shall no longer countenance the wanton
destruction of human lives no matter the religion, ethnicity or origin
of the victims or the villains. If so, maybe this nation is coming of
age and none too soon.
As such, this outcry is as welcome as it
is overdue. We should have been agitating in this manner 5, 10, 15 years
ago. Lives would have been saved. For reasons I cannot completely
fathom we have come late to the point of strong, collective outrage at
this bloodletting. Yet, all in all, late is better than never in this
regard.
This spirit of compassion and care must be enshrined in
our political culture because it is integral to national greatness and
democratic progress. True patriotism requires that you love more than
the concept of Nigeria. You must love the people who comprise this
nation, whether they worship in a church, mosque, and shrine or not at
all.
Over the course of history, nations have faced crises more
crimson than this. Through wise policy, many nations emerged from the
thicket better situated to realize their better destiny.
These nations and their people are no better than us. We can and we must do the same thing.
Against
this backdrop we must take prudent action. It is incumbent on the
federal government to do what past governments neglected to do. We must
forget our age-old prejudices in order to resolve this problem. What we
need is serious committed action.
At its essence, this crisis was not born of religious or ethnic hatred. It is about a shrinking amount of grass and water.
In
recent years the desert has expanded, consuming land once used to graze
livestock. This pushed cattle herders farther and farther south to
collide with the farmers who were there.
Ecological peril spawned economic conflict which descended into violence.
This
violence has taken on religious, ethnic and regional consequences
because of the identities of the parties involved. This tragic episode
tolls a caution to us all.
Left to fester, this problem expanded to assume dimensions that now tremors the body politic.
This
is what too often happens when dire problems are left unattended. Now,
the current administration is moving to arrest the lethal situation.
I
welcome the deployment of more law enforcement and military into the
troubled areasThese security measures will stem the immediate violence
and loss of life.
As we commend these security measures, we must
not lose sight of the fact that the problem bears an economic origin.
Thus, agro-economic policy initiatives must help shape the lasting
solution.
The crux of the matter is that the nomadic way of life
is fast becoming obsolete. Large scale nomadic practice does not belong
in this day and age. This is reality and it is inescapable.
Thus,
herders have no right to cling to this way of life by killing others.
Government must stop their violence but also offer them a viable new way
of life by moving them toward more modern, non-nomadic cattle rearing.
To
resolve this lethal problem, government must implement a
multi-dimensional policy that encompasses security, agro-economic,
educational and emergency relief elements. This is the art and mastery
of governance that our nation and its complex problems require.
In
addition to mending this rupture of peace, I believe those who seek to
enshrine good governance must boldly act to improve the quality of life
of the people.”
