Garba Shehu Becomes ‘Human’ After Backlash For Blaming Borno Farmers For Their Death
Presidential aide, Garba Shehu, has been humbled by criticisms that trailed his remark on the recent execution of over 40 farmers by members of the Boko Haram terrorist group in northern Nigeria, which seemed to suggest that he lacked human feelings.
Shehu, for the first time in a long while, appeared to be remorseful for making a statement considered by Nigerians to be an unpopular one.
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The presidential aide had allegedly blamed about 43 farmers said to have been slaughtered by Boko Haram for causing their deaths by playing into the hands of the insurgents.
Shehu was quoted by BBC to have said that the farmers failed to get safety clearance from the military before proceeding to their farms, where the insurgents waylaid them and slit their throats.
The unfortunate incident occurred at Zabarmari village in Jere Local Government Area of Borno State on Saturday.
Shehu had said in reaction: “The truth has to be said. Was there any military clearance from the military who are in total control of the area? Did anybody ask (the farmers) to resume activity?
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“So ideally, all of these places ought to probably be allowed to pass through proper military clearance before resettlement or even farmers resuming activities on those fields,” the presidential aide told BBC on Sunday.
But Shehu came under heavy criticism on social media, as Nigerians lampooned him for allegedly lacking empathy in trying to absolve the government in the gruesome murder of the farmers.
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Reacting, however, the presidential aide attempted to do a damage control to his earlier statement, saying he couldn’t have suggested that the slain farmers deserved to die for ignoring security clearance.
He said in a series of tweets on Monday: “Today, I found myself leading the trends in the social media for the wrong reasons.
“The State of Borno is essentially a military zone up till now that we are talking and much of what people do; much of where they go are governed by the exigencies of security.
“Routinely, traders, administration officials and even UN agencies get the green light to go to many of the areas to avoid trouble.
“Information from security agencies says that the Zabarmari marshlands are infested with land mines and movements in around those areas subject to military oversight.
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“No one is delighted with the massacre in Zabarmari and there is nothing anybody will gain by playing blame games.”
Shehu added that, “I’m human with tons of compassion and empathy, and could not have said that the victims deserved their fate for ignoring security clearance.
“I was merely explaining the mode of military operations in the war zone of the Northeast. There are areas that are still volatile that require security clearance which is intended to put people out of harm’s way.
“When tragedies occur, questions arise in terms of how something happened in order to avoid future recurrence. Informing the military of our movements in an area of volatility and uncertainty is intended to preserve public safety.
“Explaining why something happened doesn’t mean I have no sympathy for the victims. I was just explaining the military procedures on the safe movement of the people and not supporting the death of the victims.”
