QUESTION: Will Buhari be silent again over ‘herdsmen killings’ in Benue?

Just how much is the worth of a Nigerian life? On Friday, six policemen were killed in the United States, and President Barrack Obama addressed his country from faraway Poland, to calm the grief of a “battered” nation.

In Nigeria, over the weekend, news broke that herdsmen killed 81 people in Benue state — and it’s pin drop silence from the father of the nation, President Muhammadu Buhari.

The gruesome attack, in the Logo and Ukum council area of Benue state, was said to have gone on for about two weeks, bringing the death toll to 81 over the weekend.

Jimmy Meeme, a local chief, who spoke to Channels Television on the invasion of rural communities, said 70 persons were killed in six out of the 10 council wards under his leadership.

Moses Yamu, police public relations officer in the state, dismissed allegations of neglect of duty by security personnel, insisting that only 22 people were  killed.

300 DEATHS AND A STATEMENT IS WHAT WE GET?

In February, over 300 Nigerians living in the Agatu community of Benue state were killed by these herdsmen, and the president was silent for a “long” time.

When Nigerians complained time and again, Femi Adesina, the presidential spokesman, said President Buhari issued a statement.

“A section of this country wants a talkative president and it doesn’t work that way. When the Agatu thing happened, we issued a statement – a statement in which President Buhari said he would ask for briefings, and it would be looked into,” Adesina said.

“Some people kept saying Agatu, Agatu, he has not spoken, and I asked myself, what else would he say after the statement that has been issued?”

Three hundred Nigerians dead, and a statement is all they get?

BUHARI, HERDSMEN AND THE MANY PROXIES

For over two months after the Agatu killing spree, the president did not address the killings at any public forum, and when he eventually did, it was through Lai Mohammed, minister of information and culture, at a ceremonious book launch.

At the launch of Who will love my country?, a book by Ike Ekweremadu, the deputy senate president, Mohammed said the president had asked the inspector-general of  police to look into herdsmen killings and apprehend culprits.

Garba Shehu, a presidential spokesman, a second proxy, released a statement in like manner, but all of these orders came to public knowledge after the Nimbo community attack, where dozens were reported dead.

FINALLY WHEN HE SPOKE… HERDSMEN ARE FROM LIBYA

Eventually, the president was faced with the question in London, in an interview with TheCable in May. He said  some of the herdsmen were from Libya.

“There seems to be some credibility that there are other than Nigerian cattle rearers involved. Now this is because of what happened in Libya. Gaddafi, during his 43-year regime, trained some people from the Sahel… militarily, he trained them,” he had said.

“And when his regime was overthrown, those people were again dispatched to their countries. They are gone, carrying their weapons and they found themselves even in Boko Haram. It is a major regional and virtually African problem. It is a government project now to trace them, and disarm them and if necessary try them and lock them up.”

MAY 29 SPEECH AND THE “SILENCE IS CONSENT” NARRATIVE

On democracy day, Buhari addressed virtually all the issues bedeviling Nigeria as a nation, but conspicuously said not a word about the herdsmen killings, driving a narrative among Nigerians that he, a cattle owner, was in support of the herdsmen.

Nigerians took to various social media platforms to vent their anger on what was termed a “grave omission”.

“I believe in President Buhari but I’m worried he did not make mention of the Fulani herdsmen in his speech,” Yinka Odubiyere, a social commentator, said after the president’s speech.

WILL THE SILENCE CONTINUE?

Buhari condemned, in strong terms, the killing of 50 people in the US night club, less than 48 hours after it happened. The Saudi Arabia bombing was also addressed by the president, less than 24 hours after the attack.

Another 81 souls gone, and the presidency has said nothing at all about Benue killing. Will this silence continue?