Chief Yohana Margif, the Waziri Mushere.
By Angela Atabo
Chief Yohana Margif, a community leader in Plateau, has called on Gov. Caleb Mutfwang and Plateau’s National Assembly members to join hands and end the escalating herdsmen attacks on Mushere community.
He made the plea at a news conference in Abuja on Saturday, stressing that there was urgent need for collective action by political leaders to save Plateau people from the herdsmen’s relentless killings.
Margif, the Waziri Mushere of Mushere Chiefdom, Bokkos Local Government Area, also appealed to the Federal Government and the international community for support and urgent intervention to save the people’s lives.
According to him, the timing of the attacks, particularly during the farming season, and harsh weather conditions, has exacerbated the suffering of the victims, who are largely rural farmers.
The community leader further said that so many villages in Mushere Chiefdom, such as Kadim, Hokk, and Nawula, among others, had already been ravaged and sacked by the marauding herdsmen.
The bodies of victims of the relentless herdsmen attacks on Plateau communities being buried.
“These attacks culminated in countless loss of lives, destruction of homes, displacement of inhabitants, whose lands are now occupied by the herders, depriving them access to their ancestral homes and livelihoods.
“The situation demands immediate attention, and I appeal to Gov. Caleb Mutfwang, the Federal Government, our National Assembly members, security chiefs, other critical stakeholders, and the international community for support in bringing an end to this violence.
“The current escalation of attacks and wanton killings across Plateau State necessitates collective action to restore peace and security,” he said.
Margif noted that the herders were emboldened by the lack of effective response from the authorities, hence the killings and land grabbing were replicated in several communities across Plateau.
“As leaders, we cannot stand idly by while our people are being brutalised and our lands taken over. Our people cannot perish in silence, we must take decisive action to save them and restore peace and security.
“The cries of our people seem to fall on deaf ears, and it is imperative that we, as leaders, take urgent action to address this situation.
“The killings and land grabbing from one community to another, is not a good testament to our leadership, so we must urgently collectively intervene and stem the spread of bloodshed,” he said.
The community leader also proffered some measures that would bring about the immediate cessation of hostilities and the restoration of peace in the affected areas.
He, therefore, suggested an immediate change of strategy by the government and relevant security agencies, stressing that “the business-as-usual approach of doing the same thing in the same way would only culminate in the same outcome.”(NAN)
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