First of all, the Farmer-Herder
crisis in Nigeria must be
condemned. We
should all condemn the senseless
killings by the herders all
across Nigeria, they are killing
our people in the north, even
more, kidnapping and terrorizing
our communities in Katsina,
Kaduna, Zamfara and everywhere.
This should not be acceptable by
the government. As the
Presidency said, the criminal
herders are being tried and
convicted across Nigeria
particularly in Benue State but
more should be done to address
all sorts of criminality like
kidnappings, youth banditry, the
farmer-herder crisis as well as
safety of lives and properties.
And all State Governors of the
Federation should speak with one
voice to eradicate this scourge.
But also the crisis has shown how the
southern governors are biased
and showed an utter lack of
understanding of the Nigerian
social systems embedded in
particular historical contexts.
Research shows that effective
leaders are those who are in
tune with their environment and
who consistently act in ways
that promote unity and peaceful
coexistence of various
communities within their
domains. The actions of these
so-called governors, however,
are not made up of a grand
vision of peace and tolerance.
Rather, their actions tend to be
smaller, bias, full of sentiment
and hatred of the Hausa-Fulani
and the Northerners period!; and
therefore less impactful and
meaningless, they tend to be
clear though, in their rhetoric
and incitement of further divide
without taking into
consideration the overall peace
and security of the entire
country. This indeed is a shame.
As illustrated in the videos
herein attached, Governor Nasiru
El-Rufai of Kaduna State and his
colleague Governor Bala Mohammed
of Bauchi state exemplify what
leadership is all about: The
capacity and the will to rally
men and women to a common
purpose of peaceful coexistence
amongst the citizens
irrespective of their ethnic
backgrounds, religious beliefs,
social class or even political
affiliation, and offer a
practical solution to the
problems bedevilling the people,
which inspire confidence.
Leadership is lifting a person’s
vision to high sights, the
raising of a person’s
performance to a higher
standard, the building
confidence of the people beyond
normal limitations of hatred,
bigotry and religious or ethnic
sentiments. That is why the
response by Governor Bala
Mohammed of Bauchi State to Gov
Samuel Ortom of Benue State on
the Farmer-Herder crisis is very
right indeed. All Northern
governors acknowledge that every
southerner can and must live in
the North comfortably and in
peace without bias or
harassment, can even contest and
win election whereas the
southern governors are busy
given ultimatums to the
Northerners to leave their
states or carry ID cards. This
is absurd and utterly
unacceptable if we are to remain
in one Nigeria.
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