A coalition of Civil Society Organizations, under the auspices of Joint Civil Society Committee, on Wednesday stormed Abuja streets alleging that Nigeria has turned to a slaughter field under the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.
This, they said can be gleaned from killings of over 5,000 people from different parts of the country in six months by herdsmen, bandits and cattle rustlers, without any practical steps taking by the government to end the bloodshed, but have been busy making policies that protect cows and their herders.
The group that assembled at the Unity Fountain and marched through Shehu Shagari express way to the Presidential Villa gate, accused President Muhammadu Buhari of non-challant attitude towards the killings that has made Benue, Taraba, Plateau and Zamfara states ” killing fields”.
Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, former Chairman National Human Rights Commission, who protested with the group, said that the country is in danger, considering the fact that the killer’s have returned to the Federal Capital territory, with the seven police officers who were murdered at their duty post.
Odinkalu stated that if Nigerian government has value for human lives, the National flag should have been lowered to show respect for the murdered police officers.
” The morning after seven police officers were massacred in Abuja, government should have lowered the flag and observe a minute silence, to commemorate the Nigerians killed. Wherever you go killings have become by- words for massacre under the government that promised to protect us, we will continue marching until government recognizes that in a democracy, government is set up by the votes of the people and you will not be able to set up a government when all your voters are being killed.
” The president has to be forced to go to Benue, Zamfara, Taraba and when he goes he doesn’t see the victims, he holds up in state house and thinks that we should be grateful, we are not and we expect him as the father and human that he is to understand the pain we want to transmit”, he said.
The groups, in a joint statement read by Yemi Ademelekun, while accusing Buhari of failing to fulfil the mandate of the oath he took on May 29, 2015, which among other things include to ensure safety and protection of all Nigerians, also demanded that he should take responsibility of all the killings and stop it immediately.
Other demands of the group’s include: ” the deployment of security resources across the country, part9 to communities vulnerable to these attacks. Considering the hefty budgetary allocations assigned to security by both state and federal government, the claims of a lack of resources will be an unacceptable excuse.
“Ensure that each Nigerian life is ascribed the same level of care as our political leadership- if mot higher. Ensure that the scales of justice are balanced. Not only must the flagrant impunity that has accompanied these killings and wanton destruction ends justice must be per I ever by all right thinking persons as been done”,they said.
Another leader of the groups and co-founder of Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) movement, Aisha Yusuf, chided President Buhari for not living up to his responsibility in ensuring that all Nigerians are protected without giving preference to cows.
She also urged citizens to rise up and demonstrate unity in confronting and forcing governments at all levels to assume their responsibilities and stop playing politics with scare lives of citizens.
” We are calling on the government to ensure that Nigerians are protected, the perpetrators of this heinous crimes across the nation should be apprehended.
President Muhammadu Buhari should assume his position as the Commander in Chief and not abdicate his responsibilities to God. We are tired of the killings and counting bodies. Nigeria is not a graveyard, we are not in a state of war and so the government must sit up and do its primary responsibility which is the protection of lives and properties.
” We are all victims waiting to happen, repeatedly the police will stop us from making a protest for a better Nigeria and we always say to them we are all Nigerians and if we do not do something it will affect us, what is happening right now is absolutely a failure of governance, there’s no good governance in the nation so we all must come together and unite to work for a better Nigeria.
” If we do nothing, it’s only a matter of time before the criminals come after us and as long as we don’t do anything we keep on giving them enabling environment to keep attacking citizens, this is the time for us to get the perpetrators and let them know that if they touch any Nigerian, the Nigerians will come after you. This is not the time for the President to show a defeatist attitude, he says we should to God, we didn’t vote for God, God has given us all the capacity that we need to make Nigeria great”, Aisha noted.
Source: The Nation
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