Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) including nursing mothers wallowing in penury in Benue State as a result of armed Fulani herdsmen attacks yesterday vow not to vote President Muhammadu Buhari during the 2019 general elections over his inaction in the ongoing killings in the state.
The nursing mothers who bared their minds to New Telegraph during a visit to the Agan camp, expressed regrets that the President has not cared to visit any camp to condole them and see the magnitude of suffering and trauma they are passing with their children for himself, adding that his action considering the killings in the state clearly indicates he does not have the love of the people at heart and as such does not deserve to get a single vote from them.
They expressed worry that armed Fulani herdsmen are still occupying their villages and there is no hope for them to return home to start farming activities and feed their children.
One of the nursing mothers, Mrs. Mnena Jimin, a mother of six children lamented level of destruction of farm crops and houses by the Fulani militia, saying life has become miserable for her entire family more so that her children are grossly malnourished due to lack of proper feeding.
“Left for me, Buhari does not deserve to come back in 2019 and even if he did, women will not vote him again. Look at what has happened, it is not my wish to run away from my house to come and be sleeping in this camp because of Fulani”.
She commended Governor Samuel Ortom for the promulgation of the anti-grazing law which she hoped would put to rest the lingering crisis between herders and crop farmers.
Also baring her mind, a displaced nursing mother from Yelwata at Tse-Ate community, Mrs. Mnguashima Ate, said there is no way anybody would go back home now, adding that those who made such attempts were killed. Mrs. Ate said she lost three relations during the attack.
“As I speak to you now, the Fulani herdsmen are still occupying our places. Everything including the crops we harvested from our farms have been burnt and some eaten up by Fulani cows. Our children can no longer go to school, here in the camp we are not properly catered for and life is unbearable”.
“So there is just no way anyone would convince me to vote Buhari in 2019, for what? Nobody is hearing him speak about the killings in Benue. The other day he said the killers were from Libya but how can aliens penetrate a country without you (President) knowing nothing about it, so I see no need voting for Buhari”.
Also recounting her experience during the attack, Mrs. Margaret Nyi, a mother of three who hails from Guma local government area of the state said her elder brother was killed by the invaders who also set ablaze their home as well as destroyed many economic trees and farm crops.
Mrs. Nyi disclosed that the herdsmen are still carrying out silent killings saying, for now, she does not know where to go as their villages are still not safe. She expressed dissatisfaction with the way the government of President Muhammadu Buhari has handled the situation saying it was wrong to vote Buhari again in 2019 since he has failed to address the security challenges confronting the country.
Another nursing mother, Mrs. Iveren Emmanuel, a mother of four kids said their village has been completely deserted as the invaders have pushed everyone out of the area.
“Some of our people tried to go back and start farming, and as they were clearing the land to cultivate crops, the herdsmen came quietly and killed them”.
Meanwhile, worried by the plight of the IDPs at Agan camp, the Nigeria Medical Students Association in collaboration with the National Youth Service Corps, (NYSC) in Benue State yesterday offer free medical services to displaced people to ameliorate their health conditions.
National President of the association, Benue state chapter, Miss Ebiri Joy said the free medical outreach was part of their corporate social responsibility to a target population of 2,000 people and address the humanitarian crisis confronting the state.
Miss Ebiri said the choice for the Agan camp was because of the neglect it has suffered by both the state and federal governments, adding that the victims were diagnosed offers various ailments including, hepatitis, diarrhea, eye problems, malaria as well as gynecological issues.
She lamented the humanitarian situation in the camp saying most of the IDPs do not have funds to access medical facilities on their own hence the initiative. With NewTelegraph
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