Benue Massacre: Are We Enshrouded by a Crisis of Comprehension?
By Adakole Elijah
A profound sense of bewilderment washed over me as I navigated a maelstrom of scathing diatribes, wherein individuals unleashed a torrent of vitriolic invectives upon the esteemed Professor Sabastine Hon, a venerable scholar and Senior Advocate of Nigeria.
The genesis of this furorelies in Professor Hon’s impassioned plea to the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to promulgate a state of emergency in Benue State.
This drastic measure is proposed as a palliative to the egregious atrocities perpetrated by marauding herdsmen, which have resulted in the wanton slaughter of innocent lives and the despoliation of property.
The unrelenting nature of these heinous acts, coupled with the apparent inability of the Benue State government to quell the menace, has precipitated a crisis of unimaginable proportions.
The Federal Government’s seeming inertia in addressing this issue, despite the fervent condemnations and supplications of well-meaning Nigerians, has only served to exacerbate the situation.
It is against this backdrop that Professor Hon’s call for a state of emergency should be contextualized. A judicious examination of his proposal reveals that he is not advocating for the dismantling of the democratic edifice in Benue State.
Rather, his objective is to galvanize the Federal Government into taking decisive action to stem the tide of violence and carnage that has ravaged the state.
In light of the foregoing, it is pertinent to ask: Are we obfuscated by Professor Hon’s stance? Should we not, instead, be engaging in a nuanced discourse about the efficacy of his proposal, rather than unleashing a torrent of ad hominem attacks upon him?
The situation demands a more measured and thoughtful approach, lest we continue to be enshrouded by a crisis of comprehension.
