By Jude Atupulazi
Most Nigerians are still reeling in shock over the brazen killing of 200 hapless men, women and children in an Internally Displaced People’s, IDP, Camp in Benue State by Fulani murderers. This latest incident which happened on Friday June 13, was one among many of such in the country since former head of state, Muhammadu Buhari, came on board.
After each killing the government keeps mum, or if it decides to react, does so very late. And in keeping with this odious tradition, current Nigeria’s President, Bola Tinubu, visited Benue State last Wednesday, a clear five days after the incident.
To add insult to injury, the Benue State Governor had mobilized his people to come cheer the President as though he was coming for a political rally. But pray, were they cheering him because his belated visit would raise the dead or what? That’s stupidity taken too far by the Governor. But that’s by the way.
My worry is the way the Nigerian Federal Government treats this issue of the killing of innocent citizens by Fulani herdsmen/terrorists. All government does is to issue hollow commiserations to families and wounded victims after each attack and that’s all. No one talks about apprehending the killers and bringing them to justice.
Indeed, throughout the eight years of Buhari to this moment, no single one of these killers has been prosecuted. In the rare cases where they were arrested, they were quietly released or a prison break stage managed to effect their escape and there ended the story.
Till today no one has heard any news about the man who was arrested for bombing a major motor park in Abuja years ago. After a show was made of his arrest, everything concerning him petered out and the nation moved on. That’s Nigeria for you. But the same government would descend on agitators (harmless ones) and skit makers over what they say.
Little wonder that the killings are continuing unabated, not just in Benue, but across the country. The killers are even steadily pushing their way into hitherto peaceful areas like the South East and the West. The latest killings in Eha Amufu in Ebonyi State, is a case in point.
Still more worrisome is the role of the media in all this. One expected the media to hold the government to ransom over its inaction on these killings but there appears what seems to be a code of silence; perhaps because the media is majorly controlled by the West which has been enjoying government’s patronage.
This is why you would see the President interviewed by newsmen over all manner of things without anything being asked about why it has been silent on the issue of herdsmen’s atrocities. In fact, the media is making the presidency very comfortable on this matter and thus it can afford to keep mum when these atrocities are committed.
The President’s visit to Benue State may have just been routine, without anyone committing him to order for the arrest and prosecution of the killers. He may have just shed crocodile’s tears, rather than ordering the arrest of the killers.
But for me, he should give the IG of Police an ultimatum to produce the killers or resign, failing which he should be sacked. If the President doesn’t do that, he himself should resign. (Did I hear you laugh at this?) Of course, you will laugh because we all know how Nigeria works.
Yet, the studied silence over these massive bloodlettings is sacrilegious. This is no more about cows causing trouble and damaging the crops of farmers, it’s about ethnic cleansing and annexation. It is becoming very clear that these Fulanis have an agenda, an agenda of sacking some communities and annexing their lands. They are doing this in the full knowledge that nothing will happen to them.
The Federal Government, indeed, acts like an accomplice. The other day, a man was attacked in his farm and he managed to overpower one of his attackers and killed him in self defence. But he was arrested and condemned to death by a judge for defending himself. He was told that instead of fighting back he should have run away. Such bunkum!
The State Governors should wake up and protect their people since the Federal Government seems to have taken an oath not to touch the rampaging Fulanis. Communities should wake up and fight back. This is now a war. They should not sit back and allow themselves to be slaughtered by people not fit to untie the laces of their shoes.
It is time to fight back and push these blood hounds back to where they came from. It is our docility that encourages them. The war is gradually coming home to us here in Anambra. We have already started having little attacks on communities and people that can pass as testing the waters. The Anambra State Government should not be fooled. It should begin to emplace measures to protect us.
It should be ready to tackle these marauders before they settle down. Shoot first and apologize later, that is the language they understand, not grammar. But in this period where Soludo is doing everything to please Tinubu, one wonders if he can rise to the occasion without fearing about ”annoying” Tinubu. Time will tell.
But besides this, the Police Inspector General should first resign if he can’t apprehend those behind the killings. Enough is enough.
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Last Line: Pause and Ponder
“Every morning, he stood by the gate with a salute and a smile.”
He watched generations walk into the building.
Doctors. Engineers. Ambassadors.
But nobody ever asked for him.
Until the one girl he once protected from bullies…
Returned as the CEO — with his name on the invitation list.
The Security Guard Who Opened the Gate for 27 Years — One Day, He Was Asked Not to Open It… But to Walk Through It.
Written by Rosyworld CRN, 1996. Ikeja, Lagos.
Mr. Mfon Essien was the day gatekeeper at St. Lydia’s International School – an expensive school his own children could never attend.
He never missed a day of work.
Never complained.
Never raised his voice.
Just stood. Guarded. Saluted.
And helped little ones cross the road in the mornings.
He was the first to arrive.
The last to leave.
And the one person who never appeared in any school magazine or staff award list.
But one student never forgot him.
Her name was Temilade Fawole.
She was 10 when some boys tried to lock her in the toilet.
Mr. Mfon caught them.
Reported them.
Then stood by her class every lunch break for two weeks — to make sure she was never bullied again.
“Thank you, sir.”
“Just focus on your books, my pikin.”
She never forgot.
Years passed.
Temilade left for the UK.
She studied.
Worked.
Built a tech company.
And in 2023, she became the new owner of the same school she once attended — bought it through her company’s foundation.
She asked the management for one thing:
“Is Mr. Mfon Essien still alive?”
They said yes.
Still working.
Still at the gate.
Still in the same old shoes.
So, on the school’s 30th anniversary, he was invited — but not to stand outside.
The invitation was hand-delivered.
Golden envelope.
With these words:
“Today, the gate opens for you.”
He arrived in his cleanest shirt, confused.
When he stepped inside, the students stood.
The staff clapped.
And Temilade, now a grown woman in a blue power suit, took the mic:
“Everyone remembers who taught them.
But today, I want to honour the man who kept me safe…
Even when nobody else saw me.”
She walked to him and handed him a plaque, a ₦10 million cheque, and a deed to a three-bedroom bungalow.
He froze.
Tears rolled.
He knelt.
She pulled him up.
“You opened the gate for generations.
It’s time someone opened it for you.”
He wasn’t a teacher.
Wasn’t a principal.
Wasn’t in the yearbooks.
But he was in her story.
Because sometimes, the people who hold the smallest keys……. unlock the biggest legacies.
Lessons of Life for Those Who Reflect.
If you were touched by reading this, why not imbibe it as one of your guiding philosophies in your relationship with fellow human beings? Indeed, if everyone who reads this decides to emulate the woman in the story, I’m certain that our society will be a much better place.
