By Kolawole Ojebisi
President Bola Tinubu has called on Nigerians, particularly Benue residents, to team up towards fighting their enemies and safeguarding the sanctity of human life which he said “is better than that of a cow”.
Tinubu also urged the Benue State governor, Hyacinth Alia, to donate land that the Federal government will use for ranching to put an end to incessant clashes between. farmers and herders.
The president spoke in Makurdi, the state capital, during a meeting with stakeholders following the killings in the state by suspected herders.
He said, “Give me land for us to establish a ranch, we can shake off the backwardness and end the crisis, this is not the national heritage we want to handover to the next generation; we must hand over a banner without stain.
“I have said it again that we are Nigerians as one family leaving in the same house but sleeping in different rooms, lets fight our enemies together and not fight each other. A human life is better than that of a cow.”
Tinubu further added that his presence in Benue was not just to show his face without emotional attachment to the anguish in the state but to share in the residents’ grief.
He said: “We’re here not just to show our faces but to share in your grief, and condole you for the loss of lives that have occurred.”
Recall that over 200 people were reported to have been killed over the weekend in Yelewata, Guma Local Government Area of Benue State by suspected herders.
Alia had blamed the killings on foreign terrorists possibly aided by local herders who are interested in land grabbing.
