Cows In Benue Are Growing On Grasses Watered By Our Blood And Manured By Our Corpses

The richly endowed Benue Valley occupied by our ancestors even before the amalgamation of Nigeria is meant to be a source of blessing to us and by extension the whole country.

Blessed with a fertile soil and a very hard working population, the state naturally without any contest became and is still the Food Basket of the Nation, taking care of almost 30% of food supply needed in a country of about 180 million people.

Known for her hostility, Benue has played host to all tribes in this country allowing them equal rights and privileges with the indigenous people. This is one of our offenses for which we are paying today.

Amongst the tribes in Benue are the Fulanis who are herders by profession. These nomads live and even inter marry with our people for many decades.

Given that Benue people are mainly farmers by profession, one cannot imagine but wonder how on earth this our relationship with visiting herders survived for decades. This was and is only possible because our people allowed the relationship to strife at their own expense. (This too is one of our offenses for which we are suffering today) .

However, as time went by, the world population kept increasing and Benue was no exception. Consequently, those open ended hectares of lands that were usually left farrow disappeared in Benue, leaving small portions of land for a large population to farm and live on.

Even in the face of this, Benue people have continued to tolerate and manage their visitors. Unfortunately, grazing on people’s farm alone is no longer enough for this blood thirsty invaders. They now prefer grasses that are watered by the blood of our people and manured by their corpses.

For long, there is ceaseless flow of our blood in the land from the hands of people who are supposed to be our visitors. There is total war declared on the Benue people. Those who escape the sword of the Fulanis become victims of constant military brutality that has claimed many lives of Benuelites .

In the midst of all these, what baffles me most is the level of conspiracy silence from those who are supposed to be our leaders. Apart from the fact that we have three Senators and three members at the green chambers, one of our own is also the chairman of the House Community on Army. One begins to wonder if he is the one unleashing the military on our land.

From the very look of things, our governor is totally incapacitated as he looks at the President who seems to have ordained the actions of his brothers going by his body language. One wonders if Ortom is less a governor as compared to Fayose of Ekiti who successfully protected his people from this blood suckers.

Government cyber foot soldiers however will not hesitate to make reference to the wild celebrated Anti Open Grazing Bill. Passing a bill if you ask me is one thing and implementing it is totally another. This bill if you care to know was nothing but an opium on the people of Benue as castles are still grazing unhindered even in the capital of the state.

Where do we go from here? Those who are calling for self defense may be wasting their time because gone are the days we use to speak as a people. We are so divided by party lines to the extent that everything in Benue is given political interpretation.

We call on all our Senators, members of the green chambers and above all, the governor to stand up to their responsibility which is to represent the interest of our people. It is on this bases that we shall decide who will go for us come 2019, since that is the only language politicians can hear.

Finally, for Mr President who cleared his election in Benue state on the bases of his integrity, his supporters will surely have a lot to explain to us when the time comes because his indifference in this matter questions his integrity.

Above all, let us all go down on our kneels and call for God’s Mercy on our land and other states suffering the same fate with us. May our dead rest in perfect peace.

I remain the Desert Voice.