inside The ruins of Agatu communities
Inside The ruins of Agatu communities
— 13th August 2016
*Six months after herdsmen invasion, roofless buildings dot war ravaged Benue villages
From Rose Ejembi, Makurdi
Although the people of Agatu have begun to return to their
war-ravaged communities, dilapidated buildings spread across their
homeland bear testimonies of the evil that befell them six months ago,
precisely in February this year.
It was the month Fulani herdsmen invaded several communities in the
local government area and caused wanton destruction of lives and
property.
When Saturday Sun visited the area earlier in the week, the people sat
under the few available trees left untouched by the Fulani marauders
while their buildings laid in ruins.
Recall that no fewer than 20 communities in three council wards of
Odugbeho, Aila and Okokolo were sacked by the rampaging Fulani herdsmen
duringwhich hundreds of lives were lost. The herdsmen paid an
unpleasant visit to Akwu village, in Agatu precisely on Sunday,
February 22 and left several persons dead after which they overran Aila
and Adagbo communities.
For some weeks, the Fulani herders chased out the residents of the
communities, killed anyone who tried to put up any form of resistance or
looked back to pick his or her belongings.
The invaders who thereafter, moved thousands of their cattle into Agatu
lived in choice houses in the conquered communities and fed themselves
and their cattle with crops on Agatu farmlands.
And for months, the victims had become landlords and landladies in
Internally Displaced Persons camps in Ojantele, Makurdi and Ugbokpo
while the herders continued to occupy their territory.
This ugly development made the state governor, Samuel Ortom to run to
President Muhammadu Buhari to help ward off the illegal occupants of
part of the state.
After several weeks of being chased out of their ancestral homes, Agatu
people are gradually returning to their communities to gather the bits
and pieces of their lives together but the major challenge staring them
in the face is shelter.
Mrs. Mariam Adamu from Aila who lost her husband, house and yam farm to
the crisis has returned to the village with her six children. But the
question of where to stay still remain a puzzle she’s finding difficult
to solve.
“When I came back and saw our only house in ruins, I cried my eyes out. I
lost my husband to this crisis and now, the only inheritance he left
behind has been destroyed by the same people who killed him. Now, my
children and I have to sleep under trees.
“Government told us we should come back home and we have obeyed, but how
can I rebuild this house and start a new life if I am not helped? My
late husband was a farmer and I joined him in that farming business but
now that everything, including our farm has been destroyed, where do I
start from?” She asked in mournful tone.
Adamu lamented further that her children’s education had practically
been put on hold since the invasion as their schools were also burnt
down by the herdsmen.
“All my children are currently at home because their schools were also
burnt down. I would have taken them elsewhere in the state to continue
with their education but where do I get the money from?” She asked
repeatedly.
If Adamu’s situation is very pathetic, then consider the story of young
Grace Agbo, a native of Ologba village who was expecting her first child
when the incident happened.
Her husband who was a farmer and commercial motorcycle rider popularly
known as ‘Okada rider’ could no longer bear to see his heavily pregnant
wife go hungry after they managed to escape to the IDP camp in Ojantele.
Unfortunately, he decided to go to his farm and fetch some food stuffs
for his wife but that turned out his greatest mistake as the Fulani
marauders swooped on him and killed him in the farm and allegedly made
away with his motorcycle.
“I suspected that something bad had happened to my husband when I didn’t
see him for days but people around me at the IDP camp in Ojantele kept
assuring me that he was okay. One day, some of his relatives came and
broke the news to me and I fainted. I was lucky to deliver the baby
safely few months later but I miss my husband so much.”
Grace who is now staying with a relation in Aila says she fears to
return to Ologba village because apart from the fact that the village
reminds her of her late husband, there is nothing to return to as the
rented apartment they lived was completely razed along with their
belonging.
In his own account, Adejo Sule, a father of eight children said it has
been a herculean task catering for his family since they returned to
their village. According to him, “although we have gone back to our
farm, the thought of where to lay our heads in the night fill our minds
everyday.”
He is also worried that many of his friends were killed in the crisis
and their buildings including his, roofless and the the walls falling, a
development which Sule noted, is saddening to him.
“When you go round this community, you would see buildings burnt and
collapsing. With what has happened to us, we don’t have any money to
rebuild our homes. We are left with no choice than to continue to sleep
outside until help will come.
“Even well-to-do people in Agatu whose houses were destroyed are yet to
return and start to rebuild because they are afraid the herdsmen might
come back again and kill them. So, we are in a dilemma.”
Even though, the people are happy that security operatives have now been
drafted to the affected communities as soldiers and mobile policemen
are now resident there, they are appealing to government to come to
their aid in rebuilding their homes.
Paramount ruler of Agatu, Ada Agatu, Chief Godwin Onah in a chat with
our correspondent expressed sadness that up till now, no effort has been
made in Agatu to rebuild their homes and called on government and other
relevant stakeholders to assist in ensuring that his people have a new
lease of life.
“You know there is no rebuilding efforts going on in my domain since the
Fulani invasion. People are sleeping outside in the cold especially, in
this rainy season. There is almost no roof covering any building in the
affected communities in Agatu”, the monarch disclosed.
The traditional ruler who declined further comments on the matter
however, directed our reporter to speak with the Senior Special
Assistant to the Governor on Monitoring and Evaluation, Alhaji Isah
Usman, a native of Agatu. However, efforts to speak with him have failed
as he was said to be attending the state executive council meeting.
However, Benue State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) said with the
level of destruction by the herdsmen across the state and paucity of
funds accruing to the state government, it was impossible for government
to commence any rebuilding efforts at the moment. He added that as
soon as funds are made available, something would be done in that
regard.
State SEMA boss, Boniface Ortese, in a telephone chat with our
Correspondent explained that the Fulani invaders have ravaged no fewer
than 12 out of the 23 local government areas of the state.
He listed efforts of government at providing shelter for internally
displaced persons to include IDP hostels being built in Daudu and Agan
toll gate, adding that plans were in the pipeline to replicate such
gestures in Agatu and other parts of the state where Fulani herdsmen are
consistently attacking and rendering people homeless.
Ortese who noted that the state government was already over stretched in
terms of providing relief materials to displaced people, also called on
the Federal Government and other well meaning individuals to come to
the aid of the state to ensure that those who have been displaced are
resettled back to their communities.
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