It is both amusing and pathetic that the so-called ambassador of Fulani herdsmen resettlement, who masquerades as an advocate of herdsmen occupation in Benue, has the audacity to accuse me of misleading the public. Yet, rather than addressing the undeniable realities confronting our people, he resorts to feeble defenses and outright falsehoods in an attempt to shield his benefactors.
I wasted time on the infantile rebuttal, where the Agatu Council Chair, James Melvin Ejeh failed to address the issues of Monday Iyachi that escaped death by a whisker after the attack in Okokolo. After weeks of boastful denials, was Ejeh not forced into an embarrassing about-face, condemning the attack? Does his sudden realization that Fulani herdsmen can indeed attack Agatu not prove the recklessness of his leadership?
How does he explain his hypocrisy—first ridiculing those raising alarms over Fulani herdsmen violence, then backtracking to condemn the very thing he once dismissed? If these facts are untrue, let Afonja1 of Apa/Agatu tell the world what truly happened!
Is it false that the Movement for Turan Liberation (MTL) and other concerned groups raised alarm over the activities of Fulani herdsmen? Did they not accuse the State government of failing to protect its people while peddling misleading claims of peace? Are the ongoing attacks, massive displacements, and destruction of farmlands not real? Is their demand for an urgent security overhaul misplaced? Or does Ejeh want us to believe that these aggrieved voices are simply fabricating their suffering?
What about the recent massacre in Okpamaju, Otukpo LGA? If Ejeh and his paymasters are so confident in their so-called peace accord, why are people still being slaughtered? Why do the killers walk free, emboldened by a government too weak—or too complicit—to stop them? Is it not true that these tragic events unfolded right after Ejeh revealed that governor Alia has directed the 23 local government chairmen to negotiate with the same Fulani herdsmen terrorizing our people?
Ejeh, in his desperation to defend the indefensible, conveniently ignored these harsh realities. Instead of addressing the indisputable facts of killings, displacements, and the looming threat of Fulani herdsmen occupation, he chose to descend into petty name-calling, as if that would erase the atrocities that our people continue to suffer.
Is it not shameful that he, of all people, is calling me names while forgetting his own appalling public status? His record is so odious that it is unworthy of mention, but perhaps another day will be better suited for his proper profiling—the embarrassing job drifting, the baggage of past antecedents, the dishonesty, and the sheer lack of ethics that should have disqualified him from any serious public engagement. But alas, in a government such as this, mediocrity is rewarded, and so he finds himself in a position where he dares to attack those who speak the truth.
Rather than addressing the dire security situation, he has chosen to serve as a mouthpiece for an agenda that seeks to reduce our people to mere tenants in their ancestral land. What else can be expected from someone who has sold his soul for temporary relevance? Instead of standing with his people, he aligns with the oppressors and shamelessly defends policies that spell doom for the indigenous population.
The people of Agatu and Apa will not be deceived by his drivel. They know the truth, and no amount of propaganda can erase their suffering. The blood of the innocent cries out, and history will not be kind to those who betray their people. Let Afonja1 of Apa/Agatu continue his disgraceful dance; when the music stops, he will find himself alone, abandoned by those who use him today and discarded like a broken tool tomorrow.
