Behind the Dialogue: Is There a Hidden Agenda in Tinubu’s Benue Reaction? By Nworisa Michael

When over 100 innocent Nigerians were brutally murdered just two days ago in Yelewata, Guma Local Government Area of Benue State, the nation was yet again plunged into mourning. Entire families were wiped out. Homes, farms, and livelihoods were set ablaze. As the blood of helpless villagers stained the soil, Nigerians waited to hear what their president would say or do.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu did speak. He condemned the killings, ordered security agencies to hunt down the perpetrators, and dispatched top officials to Benue. But one part of his response stood out and not in a good way.

He called for dialogue between farmers and herders.

At first glance, that sounds like a wise and peaceful step. But if we’re being honest with ourselves, we must ask: dialogue with who, exactly? And over what?

Let’s be clear killing people is not a dispute resolution strategy. Dialogue can never come before justice. When one side is armed, organized, and clearly the aggressor and the other side is unarmed and massacred in their sleep suggesting dialogue immediately after the carnage sends the wrong message.

It’s a dangerous signal that both sides are equally guilty (they are not), the violence is a misunderstanding (it is not), and worse, that this may all be negotiable (it should never be).

For many Nigerians, including myself, Tinubu’s repeated calls for dialogue in the face of obvious terrorism raise suspicion. Could there be a hidden agenda behind it?

Some believe there’s an ongoing push quietly and systematically to allow violent herders gain access to land across Nigeria’s Middle Belt and Southern regions, with little or no resistance. If this is true, then the president’s language of “dialogue” could be a political tool to silence victims while empowering aggressors.

And history supports our suspicion time and time again, no one gets arrested, no one gets prosecuted, and the next community ends up being the next target. So what then is the meaning of this so-called dialogue?

If President Tinubu truly wants peace, then he must arrest and prosecute the killers. He must name and shame the terror groups behind the attacks. He must declare them terrorists, not ‘angry herders’. He must push for community policing and local defense structures.

Only then can we begin to talk about reconciliation. Not before.

Dialogue, in the face of fresh blood and open wounds, is not peace. It is denial. It is a delay tactic. And it is fast becoming a cover for evil.

We are Nigerians. We are not blind. We are not foolish. We know when leadership is sincere and when it's just playing politics with our lives.

President Tinubu must stop pretending that both sides are at fault. The farmers are burying their children. The herders or whoever is behind these killings are getting bolder by the day.

This is not the time for soft words. It is time for justice.

© Nworisa Michael's blog

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