Pius Nsabe
Another gory story of mob killing in Plateau State is heartbreaking.
How did we get so intolerant and so blood-sucking that life now means nothing? Wedding visitors from Kaduna to Plateau lost their way and instead of getting help they were waylaid, the driver was killed and the bus set ablaze with passengers inside. Is this the same Nigeria where we slept on lonely highways in the middle of nowhere when our vehicles broke down in the past?
Is this the same Nigeria where communities were mostly delighted not only to welcome stranded visitors but also to provide them succour and protection, irrespective of where they came from?
According to security reports and local sources, the victims including men, women, and children were travelling in an 18-seater bus owned by Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. The group of 31 was en route to a wedding ceremony in Qua’an Pan Local Government Area of Plateau State when they reportedly missed their way and stopped to ask for directions in Mangun District, Mangu Local Government Area.
Eyewitnesses said the bus was surrounded and attacked by a mob, with several passengers killed and the vehicle set ablaze. One survivor, Ibrahim Umar, recounted: “They killed the driver first, then set the bus on fire with people inside.”
Going two decades now, the terror unleashed on Nigerians by different lethal terror groups appears to have defied any counter-offensive by the nation’s forces. There are the dreaded Boko Haram insurgents on the one hand, the Islamic State’s West Africa Province (ISWAP) on the other hand, and recently, the Lakurawa sect in between.
While these terrorist groups have their fields of influence in Northern Nigeria, there is also growing insecurity in the Southeast believed to have been triggered by the activities of members of the Independent People of Biafra (IPOB) through its paramilitary arm, the Eastern Security Network (ESN).
Before these sects, there had also been the Niger Delta militants who, purportedly for economic reasons, had taken up arms against the government, blowing up oil infrastructure and snuffing life out of oil-related expatriates and other Nigerian targets until President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua’s administration found a way to resolve their grievances.
The common denominator among all the forgoing is their regional and ideological identities. You could tell who they are, what they stand for, and where they are domiciled.
However, while these illegitimate entities have contributed significantly to the security volatility in Nigeria today, it appears that the senseless killings by the so-called herdsmen have taken Nigeria’s insecurity to a crescendo. Their ubiquitous nature makes it a graver concern as their trademark of brutal killings is seen across all parts of the country.
So many lives and property have been lost to the activities of the so-called herdsmen. Chronicling them will take an epistle. The most recent reminder of their deadly activities is an invasion of the Yelwata community in Guma Local Government Area of Benue State which left about 200 residents dead, according to newspaper reports. Shortly before that attack which eventually drew the presence of President Bola Tinubu to Benue State, there had also been attacks in Logo and Gbagir communities in Benue State that left at least 56 people dead in one night, as confirmed by the Benue State Governor’s Office on April 20, 2025 (France 24, BBC).
On May 12, 2025, there was another report that at least 23 people were killed by herdsmen also in Benue State.
On another occasion, Release International reported that at least six Christians in Farin Dutse village of Nasarawa State were killed by militant herdsmen on March 10, 2025, just a day after another believer was reportedly stabbed to death for objecting to their grazing cattle on his farmland.
In February 2025, Central TV and other media outfits reported the killing of about 16 Christians in Ebonyi State by herdsmen. States like Plateau, Ondo, Oyo, Ekiti, Cross River, Taraba, and many more in the country have not been spared of the evil activities of the herdsmen.
One big question that has continued to bug my adult mind is: How did we get here? When did these one-time innocuous herdsmen become this deadly?
The closest I came to a nomadic herdsman was at the then 4-Airborne Battalion, Ogoja Barracks in Cross River State, where my father was a soldier.
As a kid in the late 80s, watching a herd of cattle forage from one point of the nearby bush to another was an adventure– so my peers and I would never miss any opportunity to catch the spectacle. We called the herders “Fulani” and their cattle, “Malu”, for if you have lived in the Army Barracks, irrespective of which part of the country it was situated, Hausa was the predominant language, even among kids.(I don’t know how it is today).
In our curiosity, we would attempt to go as close to these ‘malus’ as possible. On several occasions, we had even followed the herders deep into the bush in a bid to satisfy our curiosity. One day, an angry cow decided to engage us. Of course, at that age, where did we have the pace to outrun a cow? The oldest of us was less than ten. I was six going on seven. It took just one word from the herdsman for the rampaging cow to retreat. The men saw us as their friends and would do anything to protect us. No wonder if we told our parents we were out there with “Fulani”, they never raised an eyebrow because they knew we were safe.
The Fulanis I knew were very easygoing and humane. I remember an occasion when a herd of cattle stepped into my mum’s “ugu” and waterleaf garden. When she accosted the man, he quickly pleaded that it would never happen again. Indeed it never happened again.
Other than his long stick, straw hat, and water bottle, the Fulani man I knew bore no weapon and indeed no grudges. Neither did his wife. Their womenfolk were an integral part of our society as they sold their nourishing ‘fura’ da ‘nunu’ to us right in the comfort of our homes.
There was a particular Fulani woman who became like a sister to my mum. Each time she came to the barracks to sell her fura da nunu, our home was her last port of call for the day before she went home. She would demand drinking water for herself and her baby. My mum would dip the poor little boy in water to freshen him up from the scorching sun he had been in and would powder him with Barong’s (my youngest sister’s) powder and the little boy would smile. In return, his mum would bless us with fura da nunu she had specially reserved for us. Life was that simple.
This cordiality was not restricted to the Fulanis only. The barrack used to be a melting pot of various cultures and nationalities. Little wonder even to date, I still remember my childhood friends from ethnic groups like Angas, Zuru, Hausa, Langtan, Birom, Bachama, Yoruba, Ika-ibo, Urhobo, Ijaw, Gwari, Idoma, Tiv, Ibibio, name them. We all lived and played like brothers and sisters. I could attempt almost all these languages at that age.
It was from my Tiv friend, Tiebine (I hope I got the spelling of the name right, for it’s been ages.) that I first ate rat meat.
What exactly went wrong? Why has our country become so fragmented? Why have we allowed the forces of darkness to turn us against one another?
Where there was love, hate now exists. Where peace reigned, conflict has become the order of the day. Rather than forge a common front to confront the enemies of our land, we now engage in recrimination along ethnic and religious lines. What happened to the saying that ” the real meaning of unity is harmony in diversity?” Why should anyone take up arms against his compatriots for a thing as trivial as land? Where is our conscience? Where is the humanity in us?
Our worst enemy is perhaps democracy. Not because democracy is bad. After all, it has stood the test of time in the most advanced and prosperous nations. But I think in our case, we have used politics to manipulate our democracy and turned it into an anathema instead of a blessing.
You don’t agree with me? Now, cast your mind back a little. Was Nigeria this divided during the military era when unilateral decisions were taken via fiats and decrees? Did Nigerians from all ethnic and religious affiliations not come out massively, and without any element of prejudice and sentiments, to vote in the 1993 presidential election that had just two candidates who happened to be of the same religion? Did anyone raise an eyebrow that they were both Muslims? No. That’s because it was seen as a “Nigeria First” project. Can we try that today without finger-pointing between both religions?
For clarity’s sake, I do not imply that we should return to our days in the hands of the junta. What I am saying is that the kind of vibes developed over time by our contemporary politicians: the vibes of bitterness, divisiveness, partisanship, haughtiness, and ostentation have promoted the conflagration that has engulfed our country today.
With the wanton killings around the country now, it is obvious that our acrimony towards one another has come to a head. I hope we will realise this just when it matters, and embrace true democratic principles and a sense of nationalism.
