Benue pogrom: A swan song for fallen heroes

Sir: Amidst wailings and tears Within Benue Community.

The stage is now set to bid final goodbye
These caskets of sorrow, Parading ruins Of men, women and children Mowed by cruel bullets, machetes,
And poisoned cattle sticks of marauders Assisted by a conspiracy of Unseen power and might.
 
But as heroes of Benue valley, They bowed with courage And now triumphed as heroes of our time.

It is the herders, nay, their patrons Who are cowards and wallow in fear,
For Asleep, they are tormented,
Awake, they swim in the ocean Of the blood of the massacred
But neither succour nor help, Could they find
From patrons who are equally guilty and deranged,
And who maintain studied silence of tyranny.
 
Prof. Jerry Agada is former minister of state for Education and ex-president, Association of Nigeria Authors (ANA).