The response of the Nigerian government to address these issues bordering on the incessant attacks of the murderous herders against farmers and their communities has been shallow.
The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Ahmed Idris Wase has said Nigerians in the Diaspora have no right to query the Nigerian government about the issues of insecurity in the country.
He said this while sitting in for the Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila during a plenary session on Thursday, as he rejected a petition presented by Mark Gbillah representing Gwer East/Gwer West of Benue State.
The criminal herders have killed tens of thousands of Nigerians in the Middle Belt and Southern part of Nigeria. There are others that have been displaced as a result of their wanton killings. Aside from the killings, they rape women and their daughters, destroy farmlands worth millions of naira and also abduct villagers to demand ransoms.
And the response of the Nigerian government to address these issues bordering on the incessant attacks of the murderous herders against farmers and their communities has been shallow.
Gbillah while submitting a petition filed by Mzough U Tiv Amerika (MUTA) on insecurity in Benue, Nasarawa, and Taraba, said, “Mr Speaker, I have a petition from the Mzough U Tiv Amerika, who are the Tivs in America against the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“And the issue has to do with the ancestral land of the Tiv people, to have been possessed in recent times through various attacks and the fact that they are languishing in IDP camps till date which needs (government) intervention.”
Responding, Wase said, “Honourable Gbillah, did you say Tivs in America? What do they know about Nigeria? What is their business? They can’t sit in their comfort zones and know what is happening in Nigeria. If this petition is coming from those who are within the country.
“Those who (Nigerians) live comfortably abroad do not have the right to file petitions against the federal government on issues regarding a spate of violent crimes committed linked to herdsmen.”
The petition, which was presented by Mark Gbillah from Gwer East/Gwer West, accused the Nigerian government of nonchalance towards the perils facing those who have been displaced as a result of killer herdsmen activities.
In his reaction, Gbillah argued that Nigerians abroad should be able to file grievances because they have family members residing in the state.
The Benue lawmaker also upheld that, “some of them are just studying, some just went there to do courses and they’re a union and are Nigerian citizens.”
But the Deputy Speaker demanded whether or not MUTA was even registered with the Corporate Affairs of Commission to begin with.
Gbillah, however, disputed Wase on the grounds that Nigeria has been pursuing a policy of inclusiveness for its citizens living abroad, and the objective would not be achieved if the same set of Nigerians cannot be allowed to speak on violent matters of national concern.
“I’ll refer you to the functions of the committee on diaspora, if you go through that, it is nothing relevant to what you’re now presenting, I’m not convinced that we have to take that petition,” Wase said.
Meanwhile, while condemning Wase’s comment on his Twitter page, human rights activist, Prof. Chidi Odinkalu wrote, “So, @HouseNGR can so blithely strip #Nigerians outside the borders of the country of their citizenship & rights….? Is it ignorance or bias or biased ignorance that drives this presiding officer in this piece of inspired parliamentary silliness in @HouseNGR?
“The same ninnies who pull this kind of nonsense habitually will show up tomorrow & tell u how '#Nigeria’s unity is not negotiable,' when they themselves have made it a tradeable commodity & have made good bartering it for convenience all their lives, even in Parliament.
“Every #Nigerian who’s crossed borders shd watch this clip over & over & decide for themselves what they wish to do,” he said, adding that politicians cannot continue to preside over the affairs of a country in whose existence and unity they don’t believe.
Also, the Chairperson of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, on her Twitter page wrote, “I am confident @SpeakerGbaja will handle the issue appropriately.”