President Buhari does not care about the people of Benue

segun akande

February 9, 2018 8:42 PM

Weeks after the state government buried 73 of its residents killed by suspected herdsmen, our dear President is yet to visit Benue.

What do you do when an area of your country is plagued by violence at the hands of a group of militant herdsmen who commit brazen acts of murder and pillaging?

How do you react when after a series of attacks, 11 days into the year, a state's government buried 73 of its residents killed by suspected Fulani herdsmen, in mass graves?

Do you play the loving father, and spread your arms around the people in this time of weakness? Do you speak to your people from the frontlines and assure them of your intentions, that you will solve the problem and ensure the security of their lives, their property and their farmlands?

Or do you sit at home in the seat of power, silent as a room fixture, and hide behind generic tweets and misdirected press aides as the people ask for a response from the man they put in power?

Do you get on a plane barely a month later to Nassarawa, a state barely 30 minutes away to commission an e-library, health centre and school?

The people of Benue State no longer feel safe in their homes; for months, their sons, fathers, daughters and mothers have been murdered in cold blood en masse by a band of herdsmen who carry AK47s and lead their animals to graze on whatever land they wish.

At the time when the mass burial happened in January, it was hoped that President Buhari would show up and inspire confidence and the impression that he was finding a solution.

Since then and the time of writing this piece, he has not set a foot in the state.

The situation is so hopeless that Benue's Governor Samuel Ortom has asked the people of the state to defend themselves.

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He may not know but the ripple effects of that admonition could on begin to sound like drums of war.

Regardless of what happens, the people of Benue will not remember Buhari well.

If they do, it will be for a lack of empathy.

The President is percieved as heavily biased and bigoted. Yet, when he has the opportunity to affect the optics of his administration and show that he has the country's interest at heart, he chooses something that is a medley of lethargy, disinterest and a downright lack of understanding.

President Buhari rules like an emotionless robot. In the end, something has to give.

Nobody voted for this nonsense.

segun akande