By Frank Utoo
… And so yesterday, I attended a Town Hall Meeting on the Agatu Massacre in Maitama, Abuja, convened by the indefatigable Barr.Paul Ankwa Edeh & supported by the likes of Enenche Comedian, et al..
It was an emotional outing garnished with very bitter narratives from survivors of the genocide. Videos were also shown of the grossly ravaged and desolate villages.
Two issues caught my attention the most:
(A) That the herdsmen insist that the grass in Agatu is the best in the country, especially at this period of the year. They would rather the inhabitants of that area vacate in peace and leave their cattle to graze peacefully or the whole place would be reduced to pieces!;
(B) That the government, while pretending to hear the cries of the victims, sent a detachment of 8 soldiers (8 pieces of soldiers!)to go maintain peace. In the presence of these ‘soldiers’ closer villages were attacked and people maimed yet no single shot from the army. When accosted by handful of villagers present, the soldiers claimed they were NOT given orders to shoot! Which officer is responsible for these orders? Same soldiers that freely shoot at peaceful protesters in many cities in the country without qualms. Plus, did the Senate not say these herdsmen are Boko Haram? Is that not enough reason why the soldiers should waste them?
We can now see a whole picture of a conspiracy theory. A conspiracy to invade and annihilate the people of the region in order to further a nefarious and clandestine project.
Our message: It never happened in the past, it can’t happen at this age and time!
