Fayose's Simple Logic

Recently, there were coordinated attacks in parts of Ekiti state with fatalities and the governor of the state, while addressing the affected communities vowed to protect the community. In addition to monetary help, Fayose referred to the fact that since the federal government of Nigeria was failing in its duties to protect lives and property it was time for self-help.

Without any equivocation, the governor banned the herding of animals in the state and sent a bill to the legislature to give the ban legal teeth. He also went ahead to convene a meeting of local hunters to constitute a vigilante group with authority to hunt down and kill herdsmen who might try to cause destruction in any guise. 

While his Benue and South Eastern counterparts were wringing their fingers watching hundreds of their citizens killed by faceless goons, Fayose decided to make provision for giving the bastards a dose of their medicine. Some called the governor's action crude, terrible and some even threatened to take him to court for denying the constitutional rights of Nigerians to live anywhere in the country. The constitution guarantees (on paper), that all Nigerians can live freely anywhere but it surely does not allow for killing innocent lives anywhere. 

If the governor is the chief security officer of a state then Fayose's actions is within the ambit of his duties, especially considering the fact that PMB appears flippant about addressing the murderous actions of Fulani herdsmen in the country. For example, the president acted as if nothing was happening in Benue State when herdsmen were killing hundreds of villagers while he was preparing for a trip to China sometime back. In saner countries, the incident was enough for him to cancel his trip in order to address a serious national issue. His spokesman, who sometimes puts his foot in his mouth when commenting on national issues, announced the president's reaction in a nonchalant statement. The president was going to China to solicit for a couple of billion dollars when studies have shown that the cost of Fulani herdsmen warfare within Nigeria is over 10 billion dollars yearly!

An indication that the steps taken by governor Fayose were right is that the legislature (House of Representatives) has now realized that the only nation that is lootable is the one that exists. 

In a recent move, the legislators called for investigations into the Oke-Ako Fulani attacks and directed release of relief materials to affected communities along with police deployment. The legislator who moved the motion stated that, "...The attacks if not curbed, would lead to reprisal attacks and imminent guerrilla warfare." Well, maybe that is what the country needs right now in order to curb the arrogance of the ruling political class. 

The legislator (Agboola) further stated that, "…The ‘back to farm’ slogan of the current administration to diversify the economy may not see the light of day, as farms were being destroyed by “uncoordinated grazing” in the country. Lives are randomly lost in these incessant attacks and sometimes in a dimension that is similar to genocide…"

                                                                                                                                    

The federal government obviously has a slogan, but it is not "back to farm", it is "die in farm." The government has been more concerned and active in dealing with cattle rustlers than securing the livelihood of farmers. 

Fayose, love him or hate him, has drawn a line in the sand and other affected states have no excuse for not dealing with their unwanted marauders. When a group determines that other lives do not matter in Nigeria and the federal government maintains a passive approach, then doing whatever is necessary to protect yourself is an intelligent approach to the perfidy.  It is one way of curbing the excesses of federal incoherence and perhaps save a failing nation.