The red carpet reception and remarks of President Bola Tinubu on his visit to Benue State have been criticized by human rights activist and lawyer Dele Farotimi.
Suspected herdsmen have reportedly been attacking Benue, a food-producing state in Nigeria’s North-Central region, frequently for a while.
Nonetheless, there has been no respite from the recent spate of killings, as within two months, suspected herdsmen caused havoc in various villages throughout the state, resulting in the confirmed deaths of at least 160 individuals.
Suspected herdsmen attacked the Yelewata district of the state overnight last Friday, killing scores of civilians and displacing over 3,000 others. Civil rights organizations said that over 200 people were killed, despite the government stating that just 59 people had died.
President Bola Tinubu visited Benue on Wednesday and urged the service chiefs to put an end to the state’s bloodletting and apprehend those responsible, following a flood of criticism from opposition arrowheads.
In a Thursday interview with Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, Farotimi said that President Tinubu would have been better off not traveling to Benue State than going there and showing no empathy for the suffering of its citizens.
He said Tinubu spoke as though he was getting ready for a campaign rally, and his remarks lacked regret.
The Tor Tiv V, James Ayatse, was the only notable speaker during Tinubu’s visit to Makurdi, the capital of Benue State, on Wednesday, according to Farotimi. He characterized the attacks as a well-planned, full-scale, genocidal invasion and land-grabbing campaign by bandits and herder terrorists.
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He stated, “I have to state right away that it would have been preferable if the president had not gone.
“The only thing worth anyone’s time was what the Tor Tiv had to say. He spoke eloquently about the victims’ suffering and thoroughly discussed the truth of the situation in the Benue basin.
Other than that, the president’s contributions were limited to glimpses into his obsessions and the worries of his assistants and aides. They made sure that the required theater was set up for 2027 since they understood exactly what the president in Benue valued.
The fact that more than 200 people died was insignificant; they were just mentioned in passing, and it was assumed that it was a political event.
The state’s main purpose is to safeguard its inhabitants’ lives and property. We’ve nearly lost our ability to feel startled. The president traveled to Benue and spoke as though he was getting ready for a campaign rally after 200 people were killed.
