A former Governor of Sokoto State, Alhaji Attahiru Bafarawa, on Friday said that there would be no elections in Nigeria in 2019 if the Federal Government failed to find long-lasting solutions to the recurring herdsmen/farmers crisis that has led to the wanton loss of lives and destruction of properties, especially in Benue State.
Bafarawa made the statement during a condolence visit to Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State at the Government House in Makurdi, the state capital, to commiserate with him and the people of the state over the killings of 73 persons on January 1, 2018, by suspected Fulani herdsmen.
Bafarawa said, “Why would there be an election in 2019 when there is no peace? The most important thing you can bring to a society is peace. When you bring peace to them, you have brought life and can then talk about the election.”
Speaking further, Bafarawa said that while it was the duty of the Federal Government to put serious efforts to restore peace in Benue State and other parts of the country, President Muhammadu Buhari must involve other stakeholders, irrespective of political affiliation, to solve the problem.
The former governor thereafter made a cash donation of N10m to support the family of the victims of the January 1 killings.
In his remarks, Ortom thanked Bafarawa for the show of solidarity, maintaining that the herdsmen and farmers crisis was a national problem which needed a national solution by the government at all levels in the country.
