Former Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Farida Waziri has called on various leaders of the Benue State to unite to save the people from insecurity.
The former anti graft agency boss urged former governors, legislators, traditional rulers and other stakeholders to set aside rivalries, and unite and act with urgency to save their people from incessant attacks and killings.
Waziri, a retired Assistant Inspector General of Police, AIG, and Principal Partner, Brookfield Chambers, Abuja stated this on Saturday.
She made the call while donating relief materials to victims of the recent gunmen attacks in Yelwata community and displaced persons at the IDP camp in Makurdi.
The donation was made under the banner of Women, Youth, Children and Crime Organization (WYCCO), a non-governmental organization founded by her.
Some of the items donated include bags of rice, sugar, tubers of yam and other household items.
Presenting the items, the former EFCC boss said: “This is no time for division.
“It is no time for political squabbling or ego-driven manoeuvring. Among us are men and women who have led this state. Former governors, legislators, traditional rulers — individuals with influence and authority.
“The time has come to set aside our differences and stand united, for the sake of the ordinary Benue man, woman, and child.
“That is why I stand here today to make this urgent and heartfelt appeal to our leaders.
“Cast aside rivalry, unite, and act. Act with urgency. Act with purpose. Because what we face now increasingly resembles a deliberate, coordinated effort to erase our people and our heritage.
“We must take heed of the words of Sir Winston Churchill, who once said: ‘Our difficulties and dangers will not be removed by closing our eyes to them.
“Another of Churchill’s warning is just as relevant to our present predicament: ‘If you will not fight for right when you can easily win without bloodshed… you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all odds against you and only a precarious chance of survival.”
Waziri stated that her call was a build up to the earlier proposal by President Bola Tinubu during his recent visit to Benue.
She, however, noted that meetings alone would not solve the problem.
“But let us be sincere: peace will not come from meetings alone. To end the cycle of violence, we must confront its roots. Before the Yelwata massacre, communities in Gwer West, Apa, and Guma had already endured weeks of killings, kidnappings, and raids. These horrors did not emerge in a vacuum; they are symptoms of deeper issues.
“We must, therefore, confront the real causes — ethnic and religious tensions, unchecked banditry, and the rise of cultism as well as the abuse of illicit drugs. These forces must be tackled, along with the herder-farmer conflict, with honesty and courage.
“We cannot afford to keep going in circles. And there is no room for blame games. Our leaders — and indeed, all of us — must be pragmatic.
“So, today, let us commit, as one people, to healing our wounds. Reclaiming our land, and ensuring that never again will a child in Benue grow up in a camp instead of a home.”
Waziri noted that the development in Benue must be of “concern to all sons and daughters of Benue. This is regardless of whether we live within its borders or far away in the Diaspora. But to find out the root cause of these attacks with a view to preferring solutions that will bring an end to these barbaric acts.l, she said.