Criticisms are trailing comments credited to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu (PBAT) for reminding Fr. Hyacint Alia, Governor of Benue State, that now is the time to “lead the process of dialogue and reconciliation that will bring peace to Benue.”
Pundits are questioning the party to reconcile with, as contained in the president’s comments. Generally, there is widespread angst in Benue State, North Central Nigeria, following continued unprovoked killings of unarmed local farmers by armed men working with cattle owners.
Following last Friday’s killings in Benue, Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President (Information & Strategy), said in a statement that “This is the time for Governor Alia to act as a statesman and immediately lead the process of dialogue and reconciliation that will bring peace to Benue.
“Our people must live in peace, and it is possible when leaders across the divides work together in harmony and differences are identified and addressed with fairness, openness, and justice.”
According to pundits, the president’s comments are akin to what former President Muhammadu Buhari told a Benue delegation led by former Governor Samuel Ortom to learn to live in peace with one another.
Killings in the state did not stop after Buhari’s advice and have continued to this day, with dozens killed last Friday in a horrifying attack on Yelwata, Guma LGA, Benue State.
Emberga Alfred represents Makurdi North State Constituency in the Benue State Assembly. His constituency is one of those that have suffered the scourge of killings by herdsmen, with whole communities displaced.
“I can’t believe that our president is calling the genocide against us a reprisal attack, and again giving our Governor a matching order that he should reconcile all the warring parties,” the lawmaker exclaimed.
He expressed frustration that when the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Olufemi Oluyede, visited the state, he did not hold talks with the people affected, concluding that “security heads go to the villa to give our president misleading information.”
Dr. Terhemba Shija, Professor of African Literature and Critical Theory and lecturer, questions: “Does President Tinubu mean the Benue massacre is an act of ‘two fighting?'”
“One is not satisfied with the content of yesterday’s press statement from the Presidency. The content of that statement seems like a product of inadequate information.
“Tinubu needs to know exactly what is happening in Benue by the elders of the state and not just the leaders whose political interests have failed us a long time ago,” Dennis Mernya, journalist, quipped.
“To Cheren Jeremiah, who is from one of the affected LGAs, “President Tinubu’s call for reconciliation and dialogue as a response to the persistent killings in Benue State, particularly following the latest wave of brutal, unprovoked attacks by criminal herders, is not only misguided but dangerously disconnected from the reality on ground.
“First, the characterisation of the crisis as a ‘clash’ between farmers and herders is both misleading and insensitive. What is happening in Benue is not a conflict between two identifiable warring groups. These are orchestrated, premeditated attacks carried out by faceless, well-armed marauding groups operating guerrilla-style warfare—without known identities, addresses, or any formal structure for engagement So, the question must be asked: Who exactly are we reconciling with?
“Is the government suggesting that victims should sit across the table with those who have invaded their ancestral lands, slaughtered their families, and razed their communities? Is the state to legitimize criminality by elevating murderers to negotiating partners? Such a stance only emboldens the attackers, signalling impunity rather than justice.
“Secondly, placing the burden of convening reconciliation meetings on the Governor of Benue State amounts to victim-blaming. Benue has long called for decisive federal action to stem the tide of violence. Instead of deploying intelligence-driven military operations to dismantle these terror cells and safeguard the constitutional rights of the victims, the federal government prefers the comfort of hollow diplomatic prescriptions. Reconciliation can only come after justice and security have been assured.
“The President’s silence over the massacres until a retaliatory attack occurred exposes a worrying pattern of selective concern. It betrays an unacceptable tolerance for the sustained bloodletting of innocent Nigerians until matters spiral beyond control.
“What Benue needs now is not another roundtable, but concrete, decisive federal military action to identify, apprehend, and prosecute the perpetrators of these heinous crimes. Anything short of that is a betrayal of the constitutional responsibility to protect lives and property.
“If reconciliation is to be meaningful, it must be anchored on justice, accountability, and the full force of the law—not on appeasing faceless murderers.”
