2 Kings 8: 7-15: “Elisha went to Damascus, and Ben-Hadad king of Aram (Syria) was ill. When the king was told, “The man of God has come all the way up here,” 8 he said to Hazael, “Take a gift with you and go to meet the man of God. Consult the Lord through him; ask him, ‘Will I recover from this illness?’”
9 Hazael went to meet Elisha, taking with him as a gift forty camel-loads of all the finest wares of Damascus. He went in and stood before him, and said, “Your son Ben-Hadad king of Aram has sent me to ask, ‘Will I recover from this illness?’”
10 Elisha answered, “Go and say to him, ‘You will certainly recover.’ Nevertheless, the Lord has revealed to me that he will in fact die.” 11 He stared at him with a fixed gaze until Hazael was embarrassed. Then the man of God began to weep.
12 “Why is my lord weeping?” asked Hazael.
“Because I know the harm you will do to the Israelites,” he answered. “You will set fire to their fortified places, kill their young men with the sword, dash their little children to the ground, and rip open their pregnant women.”
13 Hazael said, “How could your servant, a mere dog, accomplish such a feat?”
“The Lord has shown me that you will become king of Aram,” answered Elisha.
14 Then Hazael left Elisha and returned to his master. When Ben-Hadad asked, “What did Elisha say to you?” Hazael replied, “He told me that you would certainly recover.” 15 But the next day he took a thick cloth, soaked it in water and spread it over the king’s face, so that he died. Then Hazael succeeded him as king.”
The killings in Benue come to mind as I write this. First, I convey my deepest condolences to our citizens whose relatives were murdered by the cold-blooded beasts called “Fulani herdsmen”. Those condolences will not heal their hurt, but I send them nonetheless. I send this message not as a Tiv man nor as a public official under President Buhari’s government. I send it as a pastor, a shepherd in God’s church. Between 2013 and 2014 when Tiv people were murdered in large numbers by the “Fulani herdsmen”, and the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) boasted about those exploits, I wrote quite a bit against such waste of human lives without active intervention by security forces (All my thoughts about this are available online, and remain unchanged today). In the course of my involvement to find a solution to the carnage, I discovered a systemic failure in leadership at all levels—from the traditional to the political at the highest level. Then came 2015 when Governor Ortom became the governor of Benue State. The unprovoked attacks by the Fulani herdsmen, who have without doubt proved to be terrorists, continued. The governor led the people of Benue State to come up with a law which criminalizes open grazing and cattle rustling, and recognizes ranching of all animals—cattle, goats, sheep, pigs, etc. This law remains the will of the people, who give their mandate periodically to certain people to serve for a limited period. The constitution of Nigeria affirms that sovereignty belongs to the people from whom government derives its powers. I must state that the murderous activities of the terrorist Fulani herdsmen started before the Benue anti-grazing and ranching law was passed, and have continued after its passage. It is therefore saddening for a governor of a State in Nigeria to blame the disgusting massacre of hapless citizens of Benue on the law, and specifically allege that the “anti” in the title of the law was a provoking linguistic expression. I request the governor of Plateau State to withdraw the statement and apologize posthumously to the lost souls and their survivors before certain strange misfortune befalls him SOON.
In 2017, a new Tor Tiv, Professor James Ayatse, was crowned Tor Tiv the fifth. He has since led his people in truth and justice, affirming the ancient Tiv’s belief in “ichia”—TRUTH. When the Tiv people stand on the truth vengeance always befalls their enemies, and victory for them is certain in the end. In the biblical passage above, we are told that Prophet Elisha gazed at Hazael and started weeping because he saw the carnage that Hazael would visit upon his people Israel. Elisha said to Hazael, “You will set fire to their fortified places, kill their young men with the sword, dash their little children to the ground, and rip open their pregnant women.” This is what the terrorist Fulani herdsmen did to my people lately; barbaric, isn’t it? But why did the prophet not ask God to stop the future carnage? Maybe he prayed. But, if he did, why did God not stop it? There are certain misfortunes that are meant as messages from the creator. I hope that the Tiv people, in particular, and Benue people, in general will hear, understand, and positively respond to the message that the recent massacre of our people represents. The natural response is to be angry at everybody but self. When Israel suffered humiliating defeat at the hands of a very small community, Ai, Joshua blamed it on God: “Joshua and the elders of Israel tore their clothing and lay prostrate before the Ark of the Lord until evening, with dust on their heads. Joshua cried out to the Lord, ‘O Jehovah, why have you brought us over the Jordan River if you are going to let the Amorites kill us? Why weren’t we content with what we had? Why didn’t we stay on the other side? O Lord, what am I to do now that Israel has fled from her enemies! For when the Canaanites and the other nearby nations hear about it, they will surround us and attack us and wipe us out. And then what will happen to the honour of your great name?’” [Joshua 7: 6-8]
Joshua did not acknowledge any wrong doing before God. But how did God respond?
“But the Lord said to Joshua, ‘Get up off your face! Israel has sinned and disobeyed my commandment and has taken loot when I said it was not to be taken; and they have not only taken it, they have lied about it and have hidden it among their belongings. That is why the people of Israel are being defeated. That is why your men are running from their enemies—for they are cursed. I will not stay with you any longer unless you completely rid yourselves of this sin.’”
I must tell my Tiv and Benue people that now is not the time of fasting [by which many only think of not eating food or drinking water for a certain period. That is not the kind of fast God wants. Please, read Isaiah 58]. This is the time to truly turn to God, from our leaders to the commoner. In the time of Joshua, it was the sin of only one family that brought about the humiliating defeat. Tiv people and the entire Benue people are known for their courage and bravery. Unrestrained anger at this time will give us away as weaklings, both in spirit and body. Threats make us small. Let us look inwards, and heal our divisions. A divided people have no defence against external aggression.
Now, I turn to the gleeful and belligerent terrorist Fulani herdsmen. You will turn against your masters. Whoever has a hand in the crude massacre of children, women (including the ripping off of foetus from the wombs of pregnant women), and helpless men on their homelands will see their comeuppance SOON. Let the world watch and see. President Buhari must do three things very quickly in his interest:
- He must order the arrest of the leaders of Miyetti Allah cattle breeders who have openly confessed and boasted about the Benue killings, and proscribe their group as a terrorist group.
- He should personally pay a visit to Benue, visit the palaces of our paramount rulers with comforting and assuring words, visit the mass grave site in Makurdi, and hold a town hall meeting with the bereaved.
- He should personally announce a ban on open grazing in Nigeria, openly affirm support for the anti-grazing and ranching laws by States such as Benue and Taraba, and announce whatever assistance (for instance, loans to potential ranch owners) the Federal Government can offer toward ranching of animals (cattle, goats, pigs, etc.)
I reiterate that belligerent terrorist Fulani herdsmen will turn against their masters. Such is an end.
I stand by my governor Samuel Ortom on the anti-grazing and ranching law, and no one should make an attempt on his life, in the interest of Nigeria. I stand by our elder statesman, Wantaregh Paul Unongo, whose peace moves to bring the two largest ethnic groups (Tiv and Fulani) in the north together are well known. He sees a crack in the north, and the terrorist Fulani herdsmen are making the crack bigger and increasingly irreparable. I stand by the Tor Tiv the fifth, Professor James Ayatse, and the Tiv Area Traditional Council. I stand with our Benue elders. Finally, I frown at the impatience of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Zege Mule U Tiv, and my former employer at the American University of Nigeria. He should develop a thick skin and soak it all in—criticisms, false allegations, true allegations, insults, etc.—as he has done in the past. I call on him to withdraw the litigation threat against our leader, Wantaregh, and come down to Benue and meet with his people, who need comfort and assurance that they are wanted in Nigeria.
Written by Leonard Karshima Shilgba, General Overseer Bible Clinic Ministry.
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