Democratic Socialist Movement

For Struggle, Solidarity and Socialism in Nigeria

By - DSM

PLATEAU KILLINGS ARE A RECURING DECIMAL WITH NO END IN SIGHT

MASS KILLINGS IN THE COUNTRY SHOW OBVIOUS FAILURE OF CAPITALISM AND THE SELF-SERVING RULING ELITE

The Socialist Party of Nigeria (SPN) Argues for a Socialist Alternative to a Rotten System 

The killings that took place in Bokkos and Bassa Local Government Areas of Plateau State between March 28 and April 16, 2025 are the latest act of genocide that reminds all that Nigeria is a slaughter house of impunity where lives do not matter. Some reports put the number of deaths in  the killings of April 14, 2025  at about 50. These deaths took place within 2 hours while the overall number killed is  put at 150. Even in war-torn countries where more sophisticated weapons of mass destruction are deployed, such numbers of deaths in few hours are alarming. The residents in the affected communities (Zikke etc) claimed the attackers are Fulani cattle herders.

On Christmas Eve of 2023, several communities in Barkin Ladi, Mangu and Bokkos were also attacked by gunmen who killed 150 persons. According to Human Rights Watch, the conflict in Plateau State has recorded more than 7,000 deaths and about 220,000 people displaced since 2001. The Socialist Party of Nigeria (SPN) commiserates with the families of the victims and demands adequate compensation for them as well as arrests and prosecutions of the criminals.

A mass protest broke out in Jos on Monday April 21, 2025 in response to the mass killing in Bokkos and Bassa. The situation is becoming more explosive as anger runs deep mainly because the mass killings that have become one too many with no arrest and prosecution of the killers and putting an end to the killings and crises. The killing of over 20 travellers from the North who were reported to be hunters in Uromi Edo state on March 28, 2025 was largely due to the hatred and mistrust of the northern cattle headers arising from the conflict between farmers and headers and repeated failure of the government to bring culprits to justice. This is an indication of the potential of the conflict exploding into bigger and wider one that can engulf the whole country if the underlying causes are not addressed.

Just like previous mass killings in Plateau, Benue and other places, there has been no major arrest and prosecution of the culprits. Government officials will make statements and that is all. The intelligence and weapons at the disposal of security apparatus have failed to nip the crime in the bud and to bring the criminals to justice. But the so-called intelligence and police forces are usually rapidly deployed to undermine democratic rights vis-à-vis incessant arrests and persecution of protesters, activists, minors, journalists and those that exercise right of dissent. Repression and killing of EndSARS and EndBadGovernance protesters are recent examples how the apparatus of the state is deployed to suppress peaceful protest but failed to bring genocidal criminals to justice.

President Bola Tinubu who was “working” in France, released a statement that the gunmen would be apprehended and face severe punishment under the law. President Tinubu said the same thing in the wake of similar deadly attacks in Plateau on the 2023 Christmas Eve and nothing happened. Governor of Plateau State, Caleb Mutfwang has banned night grazing, placed ban on transportation of cattle after 7pm and also banned motorcycle from 7pm to 6pm state-wide. As a ritual, President Tinubu has met the service chiefs while Governor Caleb has hosted the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Olukayode Egbetokun and some other security chiefs who visited. All these merry-go-rounds by service chiefs, top political office holders and the President are the usual theatrics to give the impression that they are working until another mass killings happen in future.

The reality is that the governments (local, state and federal governments) have failed woefully in securing lives and property and in resolving the underlining problems responsible for the crises. There is no gunboat, military or police solution to the crises and conflicts, particularly ones that stem from socio-economic and political problems. It will take the cooperation and re-organisation communities and setting up of multi-ethnic and multi-religious democratic defence committees that have active participants of all tribes, religion and occupation to deal with cases of insecurity including disarming the various armed criminal gangs and cattle headers.

There are many cases of cattle eating up crops and subjecting farmers to penury without compensation from the headers while there are cases of cattle rustling by criminal gangs and elements. The age-long socio-economic conflicts between farmers and herders in Plateau and many other parts of the country, which sometimes take ethno-religious dimension, have its roots to the backwardness, disorganisation and lack of planning of society. The failure of the self-serving capitalist ruling elite to develop and industrialise the Nigerian economy and infrastructure means that opportunities are limited and many people particularly in the rural areas are tied to land like the primitive era and access to fertile land and water has repeatedly become a struggle between the herders and farmers in constant clash resulting in deadly attacks and genocide. Climate change as well as increased population, reduction in grazing land and insurgency has made a bad situation worse.

We advocate a situation wherein modern agricultural techniques are deployed, cattle and other livestock are ranched and reared in a safer and more hygienic environment for better yield. In fact, co-existence of crop farming and ranched livestock in the same geographical environment has some mutual benefits and in terms of feeding and fertilisation of soil for crop farming and this is just one instance amongst several other mutual benefits crop farmers and animal husbandry practitioners can derive if society is planned. However, rather than a planned society led by the public sector, we have disparate private farmers, many of whom are small subsistence farmers who can barely maximise the land and opportunities due to lack of manpower skill, facilities, basic amenities in rural areas and capital.

Hence, there is the need for public funded intensive farming and plantations to be set up based on well-funded research and modern farming, provision of basic amenities (public schools, hospitals, good road network, electricity, water irrigation etc.,) for rural and farming communities while giving support (free and modern farming training, hire of farming facilities at cheaper rate, low interest loans etc) to small and cooperative farmers. This can actually revolutionize farming, reduce prices of food drastically and achieve not just food sustainability but consolidate the industrialisation process and export of both agricultural produce and finished product for foreign exchange.

The fundamental issue in the countryside is that the capitalist government and ruling elite in Nigeria are incapable of revolutionizing the agricultural sector as contained in the measures above and thereby beginning to end the perennial conflict between the farmers and herders. But this also applies throughout Nigeria in both rural and urban areas. Simply a change of president would not solve the issues, the present capitalist system has failed and needs to be replaced. It is only a workers and poor farmers government basing itself on a socialist programme and planned economy can achieve these goals and end not just the conflict but also the crises of the economy and growing poverty.

SPN DEMANDS THE FOLLOWING:

  • Development of the rural areas to expand opportunities and drastically reduce poverty. There is the need to provide quality and free education and healthcare by building enough schools and hospitals including adult education and building old peoples’ home and care centres. Basic amenities such as road, housing, electricity and water etc., should be provided.
  • Training and research for farmers should be adequately and publicly funded. Research institutes and agricultural schools should be well funded and linked to farming communities. Encourage and educate farmers on modern methods of farming for greater yields including ranching of livestock.
  • There should be public funded and farm workers democratically managed/controlled plantations and intensive farming (crop and animal husbandry) across the country.
  • Unused arable farm land under the ownership and control of private commercial farmers and land speculators should be nationalised (public ownership) and shared to willing small farmers on the basis of cooperative farming system.
  • Provision of public funded farming facilities, tools, advanced machines and storage facilities to poor farmers and cooperative farmers for rental purposes at cheaper rates.
  • The forming and activation of armed non-sectarian (inter-ethnic/religious/occupational) democratically controlled defence committees to respond to the insecurity including fighting and disarming all armed criminals, herdsmen and other sectarian groups. These non-sectarian defence committees should link up with other communities and states for building of a mass political movement for the actualisation of workers and farmers government.
  • Nationalisation of the commanding heights of the economy and placed under democratic control of workers and poor farmers as the only way to free resources trapped within the ownership of few powerful private individuals and big companies in order to use them for the interest of the vast majority and the society as against the self-serving interests of a few as currently obtain.

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