Yesterday, President Buhari claimed that politicians have been blackmailing him and the APC administration, purporting that he has not taken any action on the Farmer – Herdsmen issue because he is a Fulani man.
Finally, President Buhari has admitted that he has indeed not taken any action on the issue. This shocking admission of inaction is the first public acceptance by the Buhari government of the fact that they have remained callously disengaged from a deadly and lingering conflict that has so far taken the lives of thousands of Nigerians.
We challenge the President and his administration to tell Nigerians what specific steps they have taken to bring those who are responsible for these wanton acts of destruction and murder to justice.
In three years, the Buhari government has been unable to bring even one perpetrator of crimes related to the Farmer-Herdsmen conflicts to justice. The blood of the thousands of Nigerians that have lost their lives to this conflict cry for justice. We, in the TakeitBack Movement, will continue to demand that President Buhari live up to his oath of office by ensuring that justice prevails.
We demand that the Buhari-led APC government tell Nigerians how many arrests and prosecutions have been made related to the Farmer Herdsmen conflict in the three years that they have been in power.
After the plateau killings a few weeks ago, President Buhari claimed that the crisis was sponsored by “powerful politicians.” As the Chief Security Officer and Commander in Chief of the Nigerian nation, we believe that the President was speaking from a position of knowledge. It is curious that since making that statement, no action has been taken to bring the sponsors of the crisis, whom the President claims to know, to justice.
Where there is no justice, there can be no peace. The inactions of this government have led to a situation where confirmed killers are walking around our nation with impunity. The absence of any punitive measures has emboldened these criminals and we can come to no other conclusionpthan to say that the President’s inaction is now ENABLING the killers.
Mr. President, there is fire on the mountain. Nigerians are being gruesomely murdered. Their homes and livelihoods are being destroyed. Entire communities are being displaced. For three years, you have done nothing. Because of your inaction, the blood of ALL Nigerians that have lost their lives to this crisis is on your hands.
We wish to remind President Buhari that when he was contesting for the Presidency in 2014 and 2015, he and other well-intentioned Nigerians, accused former President Jonathan of not taking sufficient action on the Boko Haram crisis. Jonathan’s inaction and ineffectiveness eventually cost him the Nigerian Presidency. The Nigerian people will soon have their say, and all those who have stood by, while innocent blood flowed, will be sent back to where they came from.
Rachel Onamusi-Kpiasi
Director, PR, Media and Communications
TakeitBack Movement/Sowore2019