I write this open letter with a mix of disappointment and sorrow that words can barely convey. I am neither a politician nor a stakeholder in any partisan framework. However, I am a Nigerian and, first, a daughter of Benue who has watched, again and again, as our people are slaughtered in their homes, only for their deaths to be buried under the waves of political fanfare. A piece of machinery you continue to fuel with your indifference and vague public statements about these ongoing killings.
On June 13, 2025, the people of Yelewata in the Guma Local Government Area of Benue State witnessed the unimaginable. Over 200 Benue sons and daughters were murdered in cold blood. Invaders burnt their houses, and properties were destroyed. These were fathers, mothers, children, and friends. They had hopes, dreams, and names before they burned in their sleep. Sadly, unlike incense in a thurible, their fragrance released not holiness but a horrendous stench of grief that now hangs over our land.
Yet, only four days later, your government, through the Office of the Senior Special Assistant on Special Groups Mobilisation, issued a memo inviting support groups to form a “colourful shoulder-to-shoulder procession” to welcome the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to Benue. I attempted to reach out personally to Mr. Fidelis Unongo, your Special Advisor on Special Duties & Intergovernmental Affairs, in the hope that someone in leadership might hear reason. That someone would understand this show of pomp is a spittle on the graves of our people. Mr. Unongo excused himself, promising a return call. That call never came.
Today, June 18, 2025, bereaved families watched you politicking on the graves of their loved ones. As you rolled out a full machinery of political mobilisation, coordinated outfits, accreditation protocols, and rehearsed chants calling for another four years of your rule. This is not politics as usual but a betrayal of humanity. When a leader prioritises stagecraft over security at a time like this, they send several signals to the nation. Chiefest of which is that the lives of Benue people are expendable. Your Excellency, the catastrophic display of choreography is appalling. Can you imagine the orphaned child in Yelewata who lost her parents in this massacre watching the parade organised with state funds? How about the catholic widow burying her husband with her bare hands? Is her priest cum governor more concerned with impressing national party chieftains and securing another term than seeking justice? Such unimaginable pain is psychological, cultural, and existential. Your actions resound in the hearts of survivors that they do not matter and that their life has a political price.
The Benue of our dreams does not line up students in the rain for a “rousing” welcome while the air is filled with the scent of burnt flesh. We are our brother’s keepers. You were elected to defend the people, not to use them as political accessories while blood still wets the streets. It is time to dignify Benue. Our people want a leader, not a performer, an advocate, not a definition of terms deciphering the “parameters” of the obvious. The wave of pain, chanting terror, and trauma are neither new nor isolated events in Benue. What is new, however, is the sickening response of those entrusted to lead. To remain indifferent at a time like this is to side with the attackers. Your public statements are not neutral. They are complicit. Your refusal to name these armed actors, pursue justice, and engage the federal government beyond organised pageantry is legitimising violence and emboldening impunity. Posterity will remember.
My heart is heavy, and I write for every child, woman, and farmer whose life has been torn apart by this preventable violence. Every Benue life is worth the monthly N3 billion security votes. I appeal to the conscience of every Nigerian to hold our leaders accountable. Nigerian lives matter. Please demand more from political officeholders. We deserve better. Governance is not a theatre for actors to continually rehearse failed displays. Neither is it an avenue to pay impoverished crowds to cheer for the very institution that has failed to protect them.
It is enough. Things have got to change!
Sincerely,
Victoria Olohigocho Omachi
