Memo to my President

Dear Baba

This is my second memo to you today, and it is an indication of how worried I am.

I have just read that the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria have owned up to the mass killing that took place in Plateau State last Saturday. They said it was retaliatory killing for some 300 cows rustled over the past couple of weeks.

Baba, This is not acceptable to me.

It is bad enough that some group of people conspired to commit mass murder; worse is that they succeeded; but it is unacceptable that they justified that heinous crime with cows allegedly stolen.

Life is sacrosanct. Nigerian lives more so. You swore on oath to protect Nigerians. You must do so.

If the claim of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association is true, then you must now realize they are your administration’s enemy, and by extension, Nigeria’s enemy. Whoever is manipulating them to advance their political ends is/are also enemies of Nigeria.

But my question is, are you supposed to watch while the killings go on. My answer is no.

What then should you do? I suggest that you begin the process of declaring the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association as a terrorist organization. Or at least declare a state of emergency in any state where mass killing occurs.

This is no longer the peaceful Miyetti Allah we used to know. It seems the group has now been infiltrated by enemies of the state.

You must now act. And decisively too. Those of us who still remain steadfast in our support for your administration are saddened that these killings are becoming to characterize your regime. We elected you to stop the killings. You have done quite well in some respects in the security challenges facing the country.

But now, this new regime of killings is threatening to put spanner in your works. We will be much more saddened if you allow it. Whoever is/are masterminding these killings must be brought to book, no matter how highly placed. The buck stops at your table, Baba.

This is as I see it.