Benue Youths under the aegis of Benue Youth Forum, BYF, on Friday said President Muhammadu Buhari, by his recent comments has vindicated the Benue state Governor Samuel Ortom on the anti open grazing law.
The group in a press statement signed by its President, Kuanum Terrence recalled that “in the past, we cried out to the world about deliberate acts of the federal government to frustrate the implementation of the Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law 2017 enacted by the Benue State House of Assembly.
“We maintained that the federal government and its agents have unfortunately made the public to believe that the law is an attempt by the Benue people to frustrate livestock farming in Benue State.
“But at a town hall meeting held recently in Dubai, President Mohammadu Buhari, while responding to questions on the possible solutions to the farmers, herders crises in Benue and other states, vindicated the position of Governor Ortom and the people of Benue State on the matter.
According to Mr Terrence, President Buhari stated that he tried to persuade Governor Ortom to stick with the grazing routes of the 17th century and abandon the modern techniques of the 21st century as provided in the law passed in Benue State.
“From the statement, Governor Ortom’s refusal led to his victimization and the people of Benue in the last one year.”
Terrence said the admission by President Buhari has confirmed that he had no idea on the solution to the crises, but preferred to emphasize the duration of the crises as superseding the solution. “This is astonishing to us as a people,” he added.
The statement also said, “We agree with Mr President that the age long crisis is older than both he and the Governor. Several Fulani groups have stated openly that the crises in Benue and some other states is the continuation of the 1804 Jihad which was aimed at the conquest of the Benue Valley and other fertile lands in Nigeria.”
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He recalled that on May 30, 2017, the Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore in a very clear undiluted press conference held in Abuja and widely publicised by national and international media, posited that they would take over the Benue Valley which they claimed belonged to them.
He said the conquest threats were timely reported to the Presidency and all relevant security agencies in Nigeria to avert the situation but unfortunately the Government that swore on the constitution to protect life and property gave deaf ears to all the petitions written to it by the Benue State Government, civil society and other organizations.
“Expectedly, on January 1, 2018, the Miyetti Allah groups carried out their threats in the most brutal manner ever experienced in our land and they openly claimed responsibility for the genocidal attacks. Instead of ordering the arrest of the perpetrators, Buhari urged us to accommodate our killers.”
He regretted that Governor Samuel Ortom’s opposition to the federal government’s ineptitude on the killings of his people had visibly pitched him against the Presidency that is determined to acquire the entire North Central for Fulani herdsmen.
He opined that President Buhari’s frustration by the action of Benue people who massively voted for Governor Samuel Ortom was what led to his comments at the Dubai town hall meeting.
“Having lost abysmally in the plot to remove Governor Samuel Ortom from office, he has brought up a narrative of revisiting gazzetted grazing routes to turn the tide against him and Benue people.
“But Governor Ortom always throws the challenge that anyone with a better option to the law should bring it to the table. Obviously, the opening up of grazing cattle routes carved long ago when the country had a smaller population cannot be the solution.”
They concluded that the president was unwilling to recognise the law because he was averse to modernity and bloodless solution to the crisis in Benue.
