While speaking to various stakeholders during a Town Hall meeting in Government House, Makurdi, the Benue State capital on Monday, President Buhari, appealed to leaders of various groups in the state to convince their constituents that the Federal Government is doing its best to end the recurring attacks by armed herdsmen in various parts of the country.
According to Vanguard, the President also urged them to show restraint and allow the security agencies to handle the untenable situation.
President Buhari said, "The governor and I, and others here know that we will leave one day, but the relationship between farmers and herders will continue.
"I urge you to keep in touch with them and advise them to live peacefully. Nigeria has over 250 ethnic groups with different cultures and nobody can question God for putting us together."
I will not be President forever, Governor Ortom will not be Governor forever. Long after our service, farmers and herdsmen in Benue and elsewhere in Nigeria will still exist and will live and work side-by-side. It is our hope that this co-existence will always be a peaceful one.
The President while noting that he was not in the habit of publicly rebuking his appointees as many would desire, said that he preferred to quietly “read the riot act” as he did to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) when the Benue attacks began.
The President disclosed that he even shared the IGP’s security report on the Benue crisis with Senators George Akume and Barnabas Gemade from the state.
There are more than 250 ethnic groups in Nigeria, with different cultures and beliefs. God has put us together for a reason, and we can live peacefully together. On our part as Government I assure that we will diligently fulfill our duty of security and law enforcement.
While recalling his Civil War era memories with military officers from Benue State, he noted that his nostalgic experience with such persons would never allow him to do harm to the state.
Once again I sympathize with the people of Benue State, and the families of all those who‘ve lost their lives in these attacks. The security agencies will continue to work to protect all Nigerians. And we will not allow anyone who takes the life of a Nigerian to evade justice.