By Samuel Ajayi
ABUJA (Sundiata Post) Please read this short speech and see if anyone wold have criticised Buhari over the Benue or Kaduna killings. Alas, it was one speech he never made.
Please read…
“Fellow Nigerians, I have to make this very brief speech to you in the wake of killings in some parts of the country, especially in Benue and Kaduna.
I am the President of Hausa Fulani, of Youba, of Igbo, of Ijaw, of Kanuri, of Igala, of Tiv, of Nupe and everyone. Even those who didn’t vote for me, I am their president and their safety and well-being are my responsibilities. Therefore, I will never fold my hands and watch or allow anyone turn any part of this beautiful country into a killing field. That is why the Benue and Southern Kaduna killings are totally unacceptable. I will never condone it and I am ready to shed the last drop of sweat to ensure they don’t happen again.
Those responsible for the killings will be pursued to their holes, smoked out and punished. I learnt there have been killings on both sides but these latest killings struck deeply at the heart of our shared humanity. No Fulani herdsmen have the right to kill any farmer. And no farmer has the right to kill any herdsmen. I agree that no farmer will be happy to see his farm destroyed by cows while now herdsman will want his cow stolen or killed. That is why we will have to find a permanent solution to the perennial farmer-herdsmen clashes.
But before then, we have to deal with this criminality. We also have to bury the dead with honour and dignity, console the bereaved, tender the wounded and comfort the displaced. That’s why myself, the National Security Adviser and the Chief of Army Staff will be in Benue tomorrow and meet with my brother, Governor Ortom, to deliberate on how to deal with this crisis. Again, my heart goes to families of those killed.
Once again, my commitment to protecting lives and property remains unwavering. Nigeria should be home to all and no group shall be superior to the other.
We have Hausa Fulani doing business in Lagos, Aba and Ibadan. We have Ogbomosho men and women plying their trades in Katsina. We have Tivs who have known no other home than Sokoto. Many Igbo have become more or less Kano citizens. That is the Nigerian spirit. And this spirit of brotherliness must never be allowed to be destroyed by some miscreants among us. We won’t allow them Insha Allah.
God bless you all.”
Mohammadu Buhari, GCFR
President and Commander-in-Chief,
Federal Republic of Nigeria.
State House, Abuja.
January 5, 2018.
Source:Facebook