Each time President Muhamadu Buhari releases the white pigeons on October 1, to mark Nigeria’s Independence Day Anniversary, it is to symbolically spread the message of peace, unity, love and oneness as a nation.
As he did same this year, the hope that the alarming rate of insecurity, particularly the farmer/herder conflict ravaging the Middle Belt states would be squashed, came powerfully alive amongst the citizens.
To many, the 59 years as an independent country have been tortuous and challenging, but remarkable to many in the sense that Nigeria has remained one united, indivisible nation despite her tribulations and the many problems that have troubled her corporate existence.
Such problems range from ethnic and religious crisis, sectionalism, insecurity; Boko Haram, kidnappings, the herder/farmer conflicts, and other sundry issues, the country has been navigating through steadily.
While the President words on the peace, security and unity of Nigeria may have convinced some Nigerians, still some others have called on President Buhari to be proactive in dealing with security issues that threaten human rights and national peace.
Some Nigerians who spoke to our correspondent were also emphatic on government deploying every resources available to them in resolving the farmer/herder conflicts while addressing its aftermaths in the entire Middle Belt region, particularly, seeing that the people living at Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps return to their ancestral homes.
An Abuja based peacebuilder and human rights activist, Mr. Austin Onuoha, said President Muhammadu Buhari’s pledge to human rights protection in his Independence Broadcast was reassuring.
But as reassuring as it might have sounded, Onuoha still felt that it would resonate more if the President matched his words with action.
“The President stated the he will not allow individuals or groups to violate the right of others. Clashes that lead to killings violate the right to life. So it is important that these Rights are protected,” Onuoha said.
In his opinion, a Governorship Candidate in the 2019 election, under the platform of Social Democratic Party, SDP, Mr. Hingah Biem, said Government should be more decisive in dealing with threats or perceived threats to the peace and collective security.
He warned that use of security personnel for the attainment of political purposes or vendetta can only complicate the already fragile security situation in the country.
“We thank God that in spite of these enormous challenges and the diversity of the Nigerian state, we have remained one Nigeria.
“First and foremost, we congratulate ourselves for remaining an indivisible country 59 years after the attainment of independence. We often come very close to the precipice yet, by a stroke of God’s grace we are saved from breaking up.
“We survived a civil war even though the scars are still there and at the moment there is still a threat to peace arising from the insurgency of Boko Haram, Herders/ Farmers conflict and agitations for self determination by the Biafran iredendists.
“However, we have not done enough as a nation to improve on the wellbeing of the average Nigerian in spite of our huge natural endowment. We have not done much to build strong institutions and ensure the equitable distribution and utilisation of these resources.”
Moving forward, Mr. Biem suggested that Nigerians be more selective of their choice of leadership and perhaps, place more premium on discipline in all aspects of the national life so as to develop a baseline for a minimum code of conduct that will guide the society.
A former police Commissioner in Lagos State, Abubakar Tsav said Nigeria’s problems are not religion, ethnicity or restructuring, but greed, selfishness and brazen criminality by a few powerful people across the country.
“A few powerful people use ethnicity and religion to rape and milk Nigeria dry and hypnotize the ordinary people with religion and ethnicity. Look at the case of P&ID Scam, who are the people involved? Are they Fulani Herdsmen or Boko Haram insurgents or IPOB? I am utterly disappointed.”
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Tsav urged Nigerians to support and cooperate with President Buhari in his quest to sanitize and rid the country of corruption instead of throwing harmer and spanners against his wheel to immobilize him.
He also suggested that the fight against corruption and injustice should be further intensified and attention focused on education, industries and Agriculture in order to improve the country’s economic base.
A former Permanent Secretary in the Benue State Civil Service, Peter Torjum, called on government to fulfil the promises they made to see that victims of the farmer herder conflicts who have been in IDPs camps return to their ancestral homes.
Torjum insisted that at 59, government needs to be more proactive especially on issues that bother on the lives, security and safety of Nigerian citizens.
“At 59, Nigeria has achieved a lot in terms of education, infrastructural development, in terms of conflict resolution, but you see, the herder-farmer crisis is a very critical thing which the federal government has tried, but needs to do more, to salvage the situation, especially in Benue State so that these people that have been displaced, the IDPs can go home.”
He said that in his local government alone, Kwande, five council wards have been displaced since 2012. “Right now as I talk to you, in my place, the Fulani herdsmen are grazing, their cattles are eating peoples crops, destroying crops and nobody is doing anything about it.
“We have the open grazing prohibition law, but I don’t know whether it is implemented only in cities, because in the rural areas, the herdsmen are still grazing in the open.”
He called on the state government to check the trend, especially in Kwande LG so that no one takes laws into their hands.
He also called on the federal government to rehabilitate those displaced farmers and provide adequate security for the safety of all Nigerians.
The President, Women Wing of the Jama’atul Nasiru Islam, JNI, under supreme council of islamic Affairs, Hauwa Isah, noted that the symbiotic relationship between farmers and herders should not be compromised.
She urged government to work more closely with the people especially in situations of crisis such as the farmers and herders, noting that when community leaders and the people were empowered to play critical roles in crisis situations, the chances of resolving them were better.
Hauwa urged governments at various levels to collaborate with stakeholders who have been brought together by Search for Common Ground, an International NGO working for peace in Benue, Nasarawa and Plateau, to bring the conflict to a halt.
“We are happy that Search for Common Ground came in with a programme to enlighten, educate and bring the two parties together to see how they can resolve the issue of farmer/herder conflict in Benue State and we believe that as stakeholders in this conflict, we are making progress and we believe that one day it shall come to pass.
“We need to live together, tolerate one another, live in peace and harmony, why, because the farmer needs the herder, the herder equally needs the farmer.
“We are two families that can never be separated, so we pray to Almighty Allah that as we mark 59 year of independence, let us witness more peace over Nigeria and Benue State in particular.
“Benue is a lovely state, a peaceful state, a place of harmony, we just pray that things will take the rightful shape. For this to also happen, governments at all levels should work closely with the people especially in community issues and assist them live peacefully.”
In his independence message, Benue state Governor Samuel Ortom had acknowledged that only sustained synergy between the Federal Government and states, as well as other stakeholders could lead to victory against terrorism and other criminal acts in parts of the country especially in Benue where he expressed enthusiasm that collaboration between his Administration, Benue people and security agencies has been successful in cracking down criminal elements in the state.
He urged Nigerians to sustain their faith in the unity and capacity of the country to overcome the current challenges and realize its full potential as a prosperous nation.
According to Ortom, the grace of God has steered Nigeria out of challenges and threats to its corporate existence, and what the people need to do at this time is to draw closer to the Creator in their words and actions.