Following the growing violent activities of Fulani herdsmen in Agatu Local Government Area of Benue State, the President of Agatu Youth Forum, Comrade Audu George Ochefije has expressed his dissatisfaction over the handling of the violence, accusing both the state and the federal government of deliberately neglecting the Agatu people in their most turbulent times. In an interview with DAILY POST Editor, Adoyi Ali, Audu speaks extensively on the nature of the Agatu crisis and its unwholesome effect on the Benue economy.
Can we meet you please?
My name is Comrade Audu George Ochefije. I’m from Agatu Local Government. I’m currently the President of Agatu Youth Forum.
What is your take on the constant attack on your people, especially the recent one in Egba?
It’s horrible. It’s unbelievably horrible that people could invade a community to carry out such dastardly act. I was not in the village when the attackers came, but we went there and we were told the attacker’s came very early on the day of the attack. They used their normal route, through River Benue. They normally come in from Nassarawa into Ega. The Ega people had problem with Owukpa people so when they came, we thought it was the aggrieved Owukpa that came for revenge, but behold, it was the Fulani herdsmen that came. The problem now is that it’s as if the government is sleeping over the issue. It is even clear that some of the militias are not Nigerians. The few of them who were killed after the attack are clearly not Nigerians, so one cannot even say the attackers are Nigerians. The question is where did they come from, and why can’t they be arrested by security men?
What is the security situation at the moment? Have policemen or the military being mobilized to the affected areas?
The security situation is zero. As I speak to you, there are no security men on ground in a community that nearly hundreds were killed. If the police and the military were on ground, they would have given security reports on the issue, they are nowhere in Agatu. We are left to decide our own fate. The truth is that security men came one time and left and I do not know the reason they had to leave. If they abandon us, and this thing continues, it then means that the government is not concerned. I want to make this clear that this is not a crisis between Agatu and the Fulanis, it is a crisis between unknown gunmen and the Agatu people. If you say it is a crisis between the Agatu people and the Fulanis, then two ethnic groups are in conflict. To talk about it, the Fulani people are not even residing there, they are a faceless people. The reason for this action is not far from what we are hearing from the northeast of Borno. It may even be Boko Haram that are attacking and hacking people, because the attacks are usually of the same level with what we hear from Borno state. It looks to me like these are the same people trying to take root in Benue State and the government is not doing anything about it.
Security men only come under the instruction that two communities are in crises and need to be stopped from fighting. It is really not a crisis between the Fulanis and the Agatu people; it is a problem of another community trying to settle down in Agatu and if the government does not take this issue seriously, it is going to become a major problem like it’s right now in the far north. These people may have left Sambisa for Agatu-who knows?
So what would you say about prominent Idoma sons and daughters who are supposed to represent Idoma’S interest in the state and at the federal level?
If the Idomas in government are seeing what is happening and are not doing anything about it, then they are weak and do not know what they are doing. They are not leading their people well, hence there is no representation. In fact, it means they are not there to represent us. I do not want to believe that the Idoma people are represented. We have a House of reps member representing the Apa/Agatu constituency in the National Assembly. Since this issue started, he has not stepped his leg on the soil. He would only come when the whole thing has subsided, promising that it will never happen again and it keeps happening.
What is the situation right now in the affected area?
The entire area has been disserted and this has affected farming as our people are predominately farmers. Hunger has taken over the entire local government as many young men have left Agatu for fear of being hacked by the attackers. Relatively, women and children have not been at home because of the level of hunger they have been subjected to and the government and its agencies have not done anything about it, including NEMA. From Ogule down to Oweto, most of the houses there have been destroyed. You will not see government presence and nothing has been done about it. We are beginning to think that we do not have somebody that is representing us. In the areas affected, there is high level of desperation and hunger as these people are farmers who depend on their farm produce. No single camp has been erected to cater for the displaced.
How has Gabriel Suswam responded so far?
I remembered he set up a committee, but we have not heard anything from them yet. We don’t know what the committee was asked to do and what has come out of their findings regarding the situation. As I am talking to you now, we do not know when these attackers will invade, and whenever they are coming, they do in large number. The River Benue that these people cross before attacking us is very large, and they even cross from Nasarawa State. The government knows these things.
If this continues, what do you think will eventually happen?
We have had so much confidence on the government because they have been promising us right from the onset that all will be well, but now, we have lost that confidence. Secondly, I believe that the plan these people have is to delete the whole community and one thing that people do not know is that when they finish from our community and settle there, they will extend to other places like what is happening in Borno and other parts of the country. Government’s negligence and the slowness in taking action will make it to lose grab of Agatu area that would be controlled by the insurgents. Government may no longer function again in Agatu. As I am talking to you, I do not know how elections will hold in Agatu. People may not come out to vote and this may be one of the effects as they will be disenfranchised from participating in the elections. For instance, there are many polling booths in Egba where the recent attack took place. It’s either the government gives up on Agatu or reclaims it. The time is now.
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