By Sam Otti
As the people of Nimbo community in Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area of Enugu State prepare for this Christmas, the sad memory of their loved ones killed during the recent attack by armed Fulani herdsmen in the area has remained indelible in their minds, even as hunger crisis looms in the area, as residents have since abandoned their farmlands for fear of attack by herdsmen.
A visit to Nimbo community showed the plight of these aggrieved people. Some widows decked in white attire in honour of their slain husbands were at the Eke Nimbo market. A gnawing sense of fear was visible on the grim faces of elderly men, despite the presence of armed security men and local vigilantes patrolling the area. In an encounter with this reporter, some of the villagers admitted that they were struggling to free their troubled hearts from the emotional limbo caused by the bloody attack, the worst the community has ever witnessed.
Nimbo, an agrarian community, lost its peace some months ago when some Fulani herdsmen invaded the area with guns and machetes, leaving sorrow, tears and blood in their trail. No fewer than 25 people were reportedly killed in the daylight attack. Several others were critically wounded and spent months in hospitals in Nsukka town. Some residents that lost their loved ones in the attack told Daily Sun that the chilling memory of the April 2, 2016, attack would remain forever in their minds, a black day that smashed the peace of their community.
A native of Umuome village, Mr. Smart Celestine Aguba, said he lost his brother, Sylvanus Eze, in the unfortunate incident. Although relative peace has since returned to the community, he noted that bereaved families were still being haunted by the memories of the attack.
“The shock has subsidized among our people. People have returned to the villages and they sleep in their homes because of the presence of security agencies. The state government actually empowered the local vigilante in the community, assisted by the state police and other security agencies. But since such a thing had never happened in this community, the healing will take time,” he said.
Aguba noted that the community was on the verge of severe hunger at the moment. According to him, women and elderly men are afraid of going to their farmlands located faraway from the community for fear of encountering the armed herdsmen in the surrounding bushes.
“There is hunger everywhere. My father used to be a rich farmer, with big barns of yam. Now, he doesn’t go to the farm any longer. Nobody goes to the farm for fear of being killed. The community is known for its resilience, but farming has been affected seriously,” he said.
Aguba appealed to the state government and humanitarian agencies to support the community with some relief packages at this difficult period: “Some families lost their breadwinners. Children lost their fathers, and women became widows overnight. The effect of these drastic changes left so many families and extended relations in distress.”
Despite the sorrowful atmosphere in the community, Aguba said the solidarity that followed the attack was remarkable. According to him, some members of the community that were divided by decades-old feuds and vendettas unanimously embraced peace in honour of the dead.
For instance, the Nimbo Town Union, Lagos State chapter, had been torn into two factions that refused all reconciliation for the past 20 years. Divisions in the union was also reported in other states, as groups pledged allegiance to different leaders. Like a house divided against itself, such divisions in the town union punctured community development initiatives.
The factions united during a recent meeting at 19, Zamba Street, off Lawanson, Lagos, and pledged allegiance to one leader. Some of the members of the community told the reporter that the blood of the victims killed by the herdsmen had become a seed of unity.
Aguba, who was among the leaders of the peace and reconciliation committee, said the community needed peace and unity.
“We are happy that this long-standing dispute has been resolved, so that our community can move forward. Our community needs the presence of the state and federal government. Our people are devastated because their means of livelihood is now threatened. You could imagine the state of families, with mothers and their children that lost their breadwinners not having food to eat or meet up with other necessities. So, we have agreed to lay aside our differences, so that we can speak with one voice for our people,” he said.
The Nimbo native also advised the federal government not to treat the murderous activities of Fulani herdsmen with levity, stressing that the forceful invasion of community farmland for cattle grazing would trigger more violence. He maintained that adequate measures must be taken to restrict herdsmen to designated areas, so that they would not constitute a threat to local farmers or plunge an entire community into food insecurity.
Following the attack, the Uzo-Uwani Welfare Association, an umbrella body uniting the people of the local government in Lagos, foresaw the humanitarian crisis that the attack would trigger and called for the establishment of internally displaced peoples’ (IDP) camp in the area to mitigate the effect. Sadly, both the state and federal government ignored the demand.
A statement jointly signed by Mr. Ezugwu Dominic (chairman), Arum Joe (secretary) and Ako Charles Solo (publicity secretary), had called for all the security heads that were privy to the attack yet failed to live up to their responsibilities to be reprimanded, but that was not the case.
Further investigation revealed that the Nimbo attack also exposed the poor state of health care facilities in the rural community. Facilities at the Cottage Hospital and Health Centre, Ukpabi Nimbo, were grossly inadequate to provide first aid treatment to those wounded by the herdsmen.
A native of Nimbo community, who is also a medical practitioner, Dr. Austin Ajogwu, decried the poor health care situation in the area. According to him, in line with minimum standards, each ward should have a health centre. He argued that the poor health system in Nimbo was evident during the last incident, where victims rescued from the bushes were taken to hospitals in Nsukka town, which was about an hour’s drive from Nimbo.
Ajogwu also urged government to guarantee people’s safety in and outside the community. According to him, the people were still too scared to return to their farms.
“If our people don’t go the farm, starvation will set in and hunger will start killing people soon,” he said.
On what has changed in the community since the herdsmen’s attack, he said: “I think it has become a blessing in disguise. Since it happened, our people have been networking to see how we can come together. It has made us united and stronger in pursuing a common agenda for the development of the community. Our coming together will help prevent such things from happening again in our community.”