The Northern Governors Forum says it is appalled by the killing of rice farmers in Zabarmari, Borno State by Boko Haram insurgents. But the nagging question remains: how many Nigerians were killed by Boko Haram?
Initially they were said to be 43, a figure the Army insists on. Others put the figure at 67, while leader of the terrorist group, Abu Shekau boasted that his group killed 78. The United Nations which announced a figure of 110 has since withdrawn its claim.
In a statement, Chairman of the Forum and Governor of Plateau State Simon Bako Lalong said the entire country is deeply saddened over the killing of the innocent rice farmers who committed no crime, except to go to the farm to earn their living.
He said the tragic incident is a great setback to the efforts of Nigeria to attain domestic sufficiency in rice production as well as food security.
On Wednesday, North-East governors led led by Taraba’s Darius Ishaku visited their Chairman, Babagana Zulum in Maiduguri and backed his call for foreign mercenaries to take on Boko Haram terrorists.
His words to Zulum, “Our dear brother, we are here to condole with you over the killing of farmers by Boko Haram insurgents. We are indeed saddened and traumatised.
“I will key into your request that the Federal Government should invite some mercenaries to come and help us out of this problem, because what you can’t do, what you can’t solve, I think we should invite who can solve it for us.
“We cannot continuously be mourning. There has to be a time to stop the mourning.
“All of us in the Northeast Governors Forum are pleading with the Federal Government to find a solution to the issue of Boko Haram because if we neglect it, it will become even worst.”
The Northern Elders Forum (NEF) asked President Muhammadu Buhari to resign for the growing insecurity in the nation.
In his comments on Wednesday, Sultan of Sokoto, Abubakar Sa’ad said, “We are most devastated with what happened in Borno some few days back. It is one of the most gruesome murders carried out in this country for such a large number of people,
“We want to go back to the almighty Allah always; there we have peace of mind because he does what he wants to do at the time he wants to.
“We are not challenging almighty Allah. Rather we are thanking him for opening our eyes the more for us as leaders to wake up to our responsibilities.”
Already, the President has said he will honour an invitation to appear before the House of Representatives, but this not according to him or his spokesman, but House Speaker, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila, flanked by House Majority Leader, Ado Doguwa, two federal leaders who tried to stop a debate leading to the summoning of Buhari.
TheNorthern Elders Forum, in a statement on Tuesday by its Director, Publicity and Advocacy, Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, noted that life had lost its value under the present administration due to the absence of political will to fight the Boko Haram insurgency and other threats such as banditry, rustling and kidnapping.
The Forum regretted that Buhari had failed to listen to concerns from many Nigerians about the level of insecurity in the nation.
The NEF drowned at the presidency’s position that the farmers did not get permission to go to their farms.
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In a statement, the NEF said,“These killings and the reality they expose will make relocation of citizens and resumption of economic activities a lot more difficult to achieve even for leadership that attaches priority to them, and this administration does not. Elsewhere in many parts of the North, many farming communities have not been allowed by bandits and kidnappers to plant crops.
“Under this administration, life has lost its value, and more and more citizens are coming under the influence of criminals. We do not see any evidence of willingness on the part of President Buhari to honour his oath to provide security over Nigerians. In civilised nations, leaders who fail so spectacularly to provide security will do the honourable thing and resign.”