The Governor of Benue State,
Samuel Ortom, has said that if not for the media, some powerful people would
have killed him.
The governor said this in a chat
with Vanguard.
He noted that the media have restrained
some people from doing some certain things.
Ortom insisted that the anti-open
grazing law established in the state is not the cause of killing of innocent
Nigerians by suspected herdsmen.
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He added, “Thee people are afraid
to kill me because if they do that the media will shout. There are certain
things or actions that certain people would have done if they had their way,
but it is like the entire Nigerian media are working with me and are supporting
the course that I am pursuing on this matter.
“And so that alone has restrained
them from doing certain things they would have done against me.
“So the role of the media in
nation building, reshaping the opinion of the people and causing things to work
is very critical and in my case, if not for the role you have played nobody
would have heard us.
“Several attempts were made to
block your reports, I know the intimidation from certain quarters against you;
some of you have been branded to be promoting hate speeches and they have
called you names, yet you have never stopped promoting the truth.
“And I tell you the Bible says
whatever you do, do it as unto God, it is only God that rewards in this life.
“I tell you the truth, the Bible
says you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free. In Nigeria
today, we have no business being where we are. We would have been far ahead of
where we are today but for a long time we have suppressed the truth.
“We must promote the truth, we
must respect the constitution and the rule of law.
“I felt so sad when the Minister
of Defence and the IG of police were acting the script of Miyetti Allah instead
of doing the jobs for which they are collecting tax payers money every month.
“If not, how can you say that the
Prohibition of open grazing and provision for ranching law of 2017 in Benue
state brought about those killings? Didn’t the killings take place in 2011,
2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017?
“This law is a necessity arising
from the killings that were taking place. And for us we sought to bring a
permanent solution with the perennial problem of herdsmen and farmers clashes
and we did our research and globally we adopted global best practice which is
ranching for all types of animals.
“And so it is amazing for anyone
to assert that it is because of the law. In any case, is this law in Adamawa
state, how many people did we hear that were killed?
“And almost everyday people are
killed. Do we have the law in Plateau State, Kaduna State and Nassarawa State?
We already have more than 10,000 IDPs from Nassarawa State camping in Benue
State. Do they have this law in Edo, Ondo, Bayelsa and Rivers states?”
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