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The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate and former vice president, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, made comments about the security situation in Benue State and other parts of the country that shocked and deeply disappointed the Coalition of Southern and Middle Belt Youth Leaders Assembly, COSMBYLA, the umbrella organization of all youth groups in the South East, South South, South West, and Middle Belt region.
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This week, Abubakar was cited as saying that he was upset with Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom and that he had “profil[ed]Fulani as robbers and terrorists.”
In the past three days, COSMBYLA reported, armed herdsmen in Benue State’s Gbeji village had killed over 50 unarmed civilians, maimed dozens more, and forced hundreds of people from their ancestral homes.
The group questions why, in front of all of this, the former vice president seems more preoccupied with trivial matters and accuses Governor Ortom of racial profiling.
What is a governor to do when Fulani killers have consistently claimed credit for the attacks on Benue State and he hasn’t seen peace since taking office in 2015?
“We want to ask Atiku what he would have done in Governor Ortom’s gruesome situation, where he has to bury hundreds of his citizens each year after they are killed by rapacious Fulani herders. Is profiling more crucial than Nigerians’ lives?
“Atiku has covertly stated his support for the Fulani Jihadists and terrorists disguising themselves as herdsmen who have made it their job to kill native Nigerians on a daily basis in Benue State, Ondo State, South East states, and other regions of the nation.
The group said it was regrettable that a former vice president of the country who ought to be a gentleman and nationalistic in his remarks, demeanor, and approach would go so low to support tribal and ethnic prejudices.
They claim that the former vice president is running for president of the Fulani Republic, not Nigeria, and that this is revealed by the utterances.
He appears to be looking for a way to give his tribe, the Fulanis, more authority so they may continue to attack defenseless Nigerians and seize their ancestral lands. He’ll be worse than Buhari, for sure! In a statement, the group also included Tito Zokumor, President of the SSYF, Shittu Waheed, a Coordinator for SWYLF, Terrence Kuanum, a Coordinator for the Forum of Middle Belt Youth Presidents, and Hon. Goodluck Ibem, President General of COSEYL.
“Atiku ought to be contacted to inform Nigerians of what he knows regarding the murders committed by these people who trade in human skin and who have caused immense agony for Nigerians. Atiku must genuinely respond to queries. They said, “He has never once denounced the crimes committed by his Fulani people.
“Atiku’s silence during the years that the Fulani terrorists and Jihadists have been killing people is an implicit endorsement of their evil and demonic activities in the nation.
It is beyond our comprehension how a professed statesman would rejoice in the extermination of the entire state of Benue by his clan because they refused to cede their ancestral lands to them for open cattle grazing, an antiquated method of raising livestock.
It is unexpected that Atiku’s reason for being upset with Governor Ortom—which he freely admitted—is that the governor has steadfastly defended his people and has frequently denounced the murder of his people by Fulani terrorists and Jihadists.
“Ortom’s powerful and courageous defense in preventing the annihilation of his people by Fulani terrorists eventually confirmed that the man who is honored to hold the title “Zege Mule u Tiv” is not actually the shade beneath which the Tiv people might seek safety.
“We denounce Atiku’s remark on the governor of Benue State and demand that he publicly apologize to Governor Ortom, the Benue people, and all Nigerians for his callousness and self-centeredness.
“While we wait for Atiku to apologize, we urge the executive governor of Benue State to uphold his commitment to save the people of Benue from attacks by Fulani terrorists and Jihadists. He shouldn’t let Atiku’s regrettable and careless words deter him.
According to what each contender stands for, “we the people in our country will communicate to all the presidential candidates in the language they will comprehend in 2023.”
