By Joy Gofwen
(Lagos) They gave up their Valentine’s Day for love of country.
On Valentine’s Day Lagosians and citizens from northern states marched for “One Love Nigeria” to voice collective discontent against the ongoing mass killings in Nigeria’s embattled Middle Belt. They dubbed the march “Project Victory Call.”
This event, organized in the southwest of Nigeria, 1,040 km away from Jos, Plateau State, was a call for solidarity under the banner of “life, justice, and peace.” The marchers knew the big-city electronic media was failing to cover the conflict fairly, so they brought the message in person. Lagos is the economic hub of Nigeria, whereas the Middle Belt states comprise the best farmland in Africa as well as untold mineral wealth beneath the soil.
The President of the Bokkos Cultural Development Council (BCDC), Professor Steven Mallo, flew in from Jos for the procession. He saluted the marchers for a show of love against the backdrop of unchecked terrorist raids upon sleeping villages in Kaduna, Nasarawa, Plateau and Benue States to name just a few.
“Today is Valentine’s Day, and we have converged in Lagos State to spread the word of love,” Mallo said. “Still, you know there have been killings of too many in the country. The recent and most dangerous is associated with the people of Mangu, Barkin-Ladi, and Bokkos counties of Plateau State. The killings that took place on Christmas Eve are unprecedented because in one night, 26 villages were ravaged to rubble, and about 200 people were killed,” he said. Genocide Watch has reported that 33 communities were sacked over a 7-day period, leaving 295 dead.]
Sen. Abdul Ahmed Ningi, PDP representative from Bauchi Central, said at Senate hearings on Dec. 30 that the mass attack on Plateau State in Christmas and the appalling failure of the military to defend the residents from the mass raids on the villages of Bokkos, the home territory of Gov. Caleb Matawan.
“This is unprecedented in the history of this country, and therefore, we are here today to ask, who are these people? We are not against any indigenous people or any person who has cohabited with us for years, but we have issues with people who are influencing the people cohabiting with us and conniving with these people to take over our land. I am sure this call is not for the Bokkos, Mangu and Barkin/Ladi counties alone; this trail is all over Northern Nigeria, particularly the Middle Belt, and we are saying no to these killings; this must stop,” he said.
He said during the visit by the federal government’s delegation to Bokkos County after the Christmas Eve killings, the Bokkos County official made several demands that would ensure the safety of the Bokkos people. Yet in the intervening days no effort has been made to resettle victims in their homes.
“We thank the federal government because when the Christmas killings took place, the President sent the vice president, the service chiefs and the IGP [Inspector general for police] to Bokkos to commiserate with us.
“During this visit, we unequivocally told the IGP that Bokkos is very vulnerable in terms of rugged terrain, especially in the southern and western parts of the county in terms of communication because most of these communities are not reachable by modern communication systems.
“We had [said] that the indigenous people were displaced from their places of original habitation, and we said as a first demand to the federal government that these people be resettled and rehabilitated,” Mallo said.
Furthermore, Mallo said they had made several demands during the previous visit by the federal government’s delegation, and due to urgency of the situation had come to press those demands again through the Lagos State government.
“We have come here with several messages, including that the insecurity in this country has reached an unprecedented level, requiring total reconsideration and a total restructuring of the security architecture, that is, as regards the whole country.
Mallo demanded that a new police unit be set up in Bokkos County.
“We have requested since 2018 that a police division be created in Daffo, which is in the West of Bokkos. We also asked that a Mopol [mobile police] Barracks be established between the crisis areas. We also requested that the mountainous regions be combed because these mountainous areas, which are the natural habitation of the indigenous people, have been taken over by criminals.
“Recently, the federal government announced the establishment of a military barracks in Mbar. While we appreciate the gesture of the government, we are saying that the government should consider a hybrid approach to security; by that, I mean the barracks should be for the military, Mopol, Police and even Immigration because the people causing havoc to these areas come from without, so we are saying the presence of the military should be stationed in the western border between neighboring Nasarawa State and Bokkos county.
“The Mopol barracks should be sited in Mbar, while the additional police division should be sited in Daffo, where the crisis is more vehement. We had requested the federal government that the people who have been displaced from their homes [through] land grabbing be rehabilitated without any further delay and resettled in their homes.”
“Still, we are waiting to see any significant efforts in this direction. The rains are fast approaching, so we are calling on the government to live up to its responsibility by either releasing funds for people to reconstruct their houses or considering, as they had mentioned, that prototype buildings should be quickly built for people to return to their indigenous homes,” Mallo said.
Joy Gofwen, who grew up in Plateau State, reports on terrorism and politics for TruthNigeria from Lagos.
