IGUOBAZUWA (EDO STATE) – It is generally accepted that peace is the most important ingredient needed in the preparation of the meal of progress. Peace and security are arguably man’s most basic existential needs after food and shelter, and no society can progress in the absence of peace, security and justice.
However, all across Nigeria, reports continue to flow in of the seemingly endless criminal onslaught of nomadic Fulani herdsmen against agrarian farmers.
Our farmlands have become killing fields and crime scenes as Fulani herdsmen unleash carnage and gruesome crimes that threaten to tear to pieces our continuous unity as one nation . From the hills of the Jos plateau to the troughs and valleys of the Benue Basin up to the Sahel of Taraba and Kogi, down to the forests and creeks of the Niger-Delta, the story remains the same —-bloodletting, killings, raping, kidnapping and destruction carried out by so-called Fulani cattle herders using sophisticated weapons indicative of a nation at war.
Reports reaching our news desk from Iguobazuwa the administrative capital of Ovia South-West Local Government Area of Edo State, have it that the hitherto quiet town was recently overrun by gun men believed to be Fulani herdsmen. A middle aged nursing mother ( name withheld) was reportedly shot dead after allegedly resisting a rape attempt on her by the herdsmen and about three others were abducted by these marauding Fulani death merchants and taking into the bush. The whereabouts of the abducted victims is still not ascertained at as press time.
According to our investigation, one of the abducted victims is one Igbinosun Osagie , he is said to have only recently returned to Edo State from Yobe State where he worked as a teacher. Ironically, the said Igbinosun Osagie was, prior to his abduction , once a survivor of Boko Haram attack. According to a source that pleaded anonymity, the school where he taught was rampaged by Boko Haram jihadists in Yobe States and several persons lost their lives. That attack, according to our source, made the said Igbinosun Osagie to quit his job as a teacher and return to his home to farm.
According to our investigation, the kidnapped victims are believed to have been taking into the bush and it has not yet been ascertained whether the kidnappers have made any contact or demands on the family members of the abducted victims.
As our nation goes through the throes of these self-inflicted pains, there seems to be no end in sight as the politics of herder’s hegemony remains unchallenged and Fulani Islamist jihadism holds the nation at the jugulars. The political will to tackle this problem seems to be lacking as anarchy and lawlessness become the order of the day. It is, however, hoped that Igbinosun Osagie and the other abducted victims will regain their freedom and be reunited with their family.
