Another day, another round of bloodshed in Benue State. More tears. More coffins. And once again, we return to grammar, sympathy tours, and recycled outrage. But these deaths? They’re not just tragic — they’re avoidable.
I’ve read reactions from across Nigeria — voices of Benue indigenes, concerned citizens, and so-called patriots. One journalist from the South-South called for the Benue State Governor to resign. Ironically, this same voice once defended a state of emergency in his region over political squabbles. Isn’t that curious?
When it’s politics, we act. When it’s blood, we speak English.
In political crises, the solution is swift: deploy soldiers, shut down institutions, declare emergencies. But when people are hacked to death in their homes, we visit, speak grammar, and promise “further investigations.” We call that leadership?
Nigeria has security and intelligence agencies in all 774 Local Government Areas. So how do armed attackers keep moving undetected across states and villages? Are these agencies blind, or are they looking the other way? Are we short of intelligence — or short of will?
Worse still, every time there’s an attack, we dust off vague labels: “herdsmen,” “bandits,” “unknown gunmen.” We dare not say exactly who. But how do we fight an enemy we won’t name? If you misdiagnose a crisis, you’ll prescribe poison instead of cure.
I watched a video from a protest in Benue. Citizens were crying out — not against government, but against fear and death. Some were arrested. What message are we sending? That demanding protection is now a criminal act?
And then came the insult to injury: a top security officer saying Nigeria’s crisis needs prayers. Yes, prayers help. But prayers without a plan? That’s wishful thinking dressed as faith. We cannot kneel our way out of a security collapse.
Our leaders — many of them — are not necessarily heartless. They are simply bereft of fresh ideas. And it’s time we, the people, filled the gap. You don’t need a uniform to think security. You don’t need a title to offer solutions. This country is not short of smart minds — only of listening ears.
Benue is not just bleeding — it’s screaming. But this isn’t only about Benue. When a limb hurts, the body suffers. If one region is unsafe, the nation is unsafe. Nigeria must stop waiting for tragedy to trend before acting.
Let’s stop burying our future and normalizing grief. Let’s stop mistaking sympathy for strategy.
The time to act is not tomorrow. It’s now.
Before more lives are lost.
Before we lose our soul as a nation.
