Seriake Dickson, senator representing Bayelsa west, has criticised President Bola Tinubu for visiting Benue five days after over 200 people were killed on June 14.
Dickson said Tinubu should have visited the state earlier to
demonstrate leadership and empathy, following the brutal attacks by suspected
herdsmen in Yelewata and Daudu communities in LGA.
Tinubu visited Makurdi on Wednesday, where he met with
Hyacinth Alia, governor of Benue, security chiefs, and traditional leaders,
promising to work with the state to restore peace and end violence.
But speaking during an interview on Arise News Thursday
morning, Dickson, a former governor of Bayelsa, said the president’s trip fell
short of expectations and failed to reflect the scale of the tragedy.
“While it’s commendable that President Tinubu visited Benue
state, albeit he could have gone earlier than he did. The decisions taken and
declarations made were not as forceful as some would have wanted,” he said.
He criticised the characterisation of the killings as
“communal disputes”, insisting that what has been happening in Benue and other
states like Plateau goes beyond local grievances and represents a “systematic
campaign of terror”.
“What has been going on in Benue, Plateau, and in some other
places is actually a collective assault. It’s an assault on a collective psyche
of Nigerians and as human beings,” the lawmaker said.
“For example, the way some of us look at this is what has
been going on there is not an issue of reconciliation — it’s an issue of pure
criminality that is almost at a genocidal level.
“And people talk about a certain route — there could be
minor elements of that — but you can’t equate killing a cow with slaughtering
hundreds of human beings.”
Referencing a viral image of a woman whose child’s arm had
been severed during the attack, Dickson described the national response as
insufficient and disconnected from the lived realities of affected communities.
“There’s one picture that is very poignant. I don’t know if
you have seen it — the picture of the lady who was in the hospital with a child
whose arm had been severed and who looked away, you know, in protest about the
actions of government,” he said.
“It’s good that officials of the government went, I mean,
the security chiefs were there. I spoke with the governor myself, and I know
that a lot of security people are there and things are happening. But are they
far-reaching enough, clearly after the fact?”
According to Dickson, the problem is not limited to the
current administration but reflects the Nigerian state’s broader inability to
respond effectively to organised violence.
He warned that the scale and sophistication of the attackers
point to something far more dangerous than local banditry.
“Look, I mean, we’re not talking about preventing. We’re
talking about 200. Next time you will hear 300,” he said.
“I think the government is actually without a solution, as
it is now. And I’m not talking of this government alone. The Nigerian state
appears unprepared for this sort of violence people are unleashing on
Nigerians.
“These are not just criminals. These are mercenaries,
commando units of foreign armies trained elsewhere. They are well equipped,
well armed, well prepared tactically, and our system is completely unprepared
for that.”
Dickson said Nigeria needs a comprehensive plan to protect
lives and dismantle the networks responsible for the killings.
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
i'm suspecting you this man.. are you one of the politicians heating up the polity or what are you saying?
ReplyDelete