Presidential aspirant says Buhari has let Nigeria down

Elishama Ideh who is a presidential aspirant on the platform of the Alliance for a New Nigeria (ANN) has called on President Buhari to declare a state of emergency in the security architecture of the nation, in the wake of the latest attack on 11 villages in Plateau State. Ideh also said the president has let Nigerians down.

Over 86 persons were killed in Razat, Ruku, Nyarr, Kura and Gana-Ropp villages of Gashish District in Barkin Ladi local government area of Plateau, after herdsmen clashed with locals on Saturday, June 23, 2018.

More than 700 persons have been killed by suspected herdsmen in the ethnically and religiously diverse middle belt region of Nigeria, since the turn of the year.

Ideh decried the total disregard for the sanctity of human life in the country, as these killings have continued unabated.

Ideh wondered how a rag tag army continues to overwhelm the Nigerian Army which has established a reputation as one of the finest in Africa.

She also wondered what has happened to intelligence gathering by security agencies as their standard response has become the familiar refrain of “our troops arrived after the attackers have disappeared into the bush", her statement read.

Ideh said, "as a mother and wife, I connect with the trauma of mothers watching helplessly as their children and husbands are cut down like animals or a daughter being gang raped by criminals, while our government embarks on jamboree as if it is normal".

Turf war

The aspirant called on "our security agencies to stand up and be counted as Nigeria is at war within; and even more worrisome is the ease with which the assailants commit this heinous crime without being apprehended.

"This is a turf war and the government whose cardinal responsibility is the security of life and property of Nigerians has let them down abysmally. This recurring gory tale is no longer tolerable or acceptable".

She called for the immediate arrest and investigation of Danladi Ciroma and the leadership of Miyetti Allah whose leaders "have been making inflammatory and suggestive comments about the killings and total proscription of the group as a terrorist organization and to determine the actual motive behind the killings and put measures in place to stop it".

Ideh said President Buhari and the APC led Federal government are acting like Emperor Nero who fiddles while Rome burns.

"How will politicians be scrambling for power while a segment of their population are being wiped out, who will they govern if all the people get killed?", she queried.

Ideh also called on eminent Nigerians as well as members of the public to speak up in defense of the right to life of potential victims "whose lives are being taken at will while we all watch as spectators".

President Buhari and Vice President Osinbajo have visited Plateaufor a first-hand assessment of the tragedy.

On Tuesday, June 26, 2018, while in Plateau, President Buhari said it is unfair to blame him for the herdsmen attacks just because the perpetrators look like him.