Herdsmen: Nigeria cannot afford another civil war, analysts warn

Federal Government of Nigeria has been told that the country cannot afford another civil war as the activities of the suspected Fulani herdsmen continue to spread across the country, with so many lives lost and properties including farmlands and houses destroyed.

These herdsmen from the Northern part of the country who are, unusually, alleged to be armed with lethal weapons different from the common sticks they used to guide their cattle, have been attacking communities in various parts of the country, raising concerns over the new roles herdsmen now play.

Agatu, a sleepy community in Benue State, which has been attacked several times with over 400 people ‘slaughtered’ and many homes burnt, is the worst hit so far followed by Nimbo, an agrarian community in Uzo Uwani Local Government Area of Enugu State where it is estimated that 50 people were killed and many houses burnt. Only Tuesday, 10 people were reported killed in Zamfara State.

These mindless and destructive attacks by the rampaging herdsmen have already provoked the victims and their relations to a point where youths are ganging up and ethnic militias are being set up, throwing back ugly memories of the events that led to the three-year civil war in the country from which some major actors are yet to recover.

“We have a dire situation on our hands and I am afraid we are heading for another war with ourselves. Federal Government’s silence on this when it mattered most was quite unfortunate, and it is only necessary the government rises to the occasion to check these rampaging herdsmen,” an analyst, who did not want to be named, advised.

Continuing, the analyst said, “I believe that as a country we cannot afford another civil war now and the only way to stop it is for the government to ensure that these senseless attacks are stopped and also to ensure that Nigerians are not allowed to hold arms because that has serious implications for our internal security and continued existence as a nation.”

Godwin Ogini, a social affairs commentator, who queried the source of these herdsmen’s arms and who their backers were, noted that because the Federal Government had been silent all this while, people in the affected communities and states feel that their security and protection by the government were no longer guaranteed.

“People in all these communities have resorted to self-defence and are therefore, arming themselves as much as they can; that is not good enough because if these attacks continue unchecked, there will be reprisal attacks and the consequence will be too grave to imagine let alone containing it,” Ogini said.

He cited Enugu State where, after a crucial security meeting with the state government, traditional rulers and presidents-general of more than 450 town unions in the state resolved to amend the law establishing the vigilante groups in the state to strengthen them and possibly enable them bear arms.

The meeting, which was held following the Nimbo attack, also resolved that the town union leaders should go back to their respective communities to mobilise the people and sensitise them on the need to support the initiative of government as they relate to security of lives and property.

The town union leaders and the traditional rulers also resolved “to reassure all visitors, settlers or foreigners in Enugu State of their safety and friendship of the people so long as they conduct themselves in a manner that promote peace and order, and refrain from acts that may truncate their peaceful coexistence with their host communities.”

A couple of days ago, it was reported that about 83 cattle, suspected to belong to Fulani herdsmen, were slaughtered in Nasarawa State and that act aptly captured the mood of the people in relation to the unprovoked attacks, underscoring the urgent need for the Federal Government to act fast.