The paramount ruler of the Tiv Nation, His Royal Majesty James Ayatse (Tor Tiv V), has firmly rejected the widespread claim that the persistent violence in Benue State stems from farmer-herder clashes.
Describing such assertions as dangerous distortions of reality, the Tor Tiv insisted the crisis is far more serious and rooted in deliberate acts of aggression rather than communal disputes.
Speaking on Wednesday during a meeting with President Bola Tinubu and other key stakeholders in Benue, the monarch expressed grave concern over how the crisis has been consistently mischaracterized, thereby shaping misguided national discourse and policy responses.
“We are deeply troubled by the misinformation surrounding the security situation in Benue,” Ayatse stated.
“Your Excellency, this is not a case of herders clashing with farmers. It is not a communal conflict, and it is certainly not just isolated reprisal attacks.”
He condemned the prevailing narrative that encourages dialogue and tolerance, arguing that it dangerously downplays the actual threat facing the people of Benue.
“What we are experiencing is far more insidious,” he warned.
“This is a deliberate, organized, and escalating genocidal invasion and land-grabbing operation led by terrorist herders and armed bandits. It’s been ongoing for decades, intensifying year after year.”
Ayatse cautioned that any response based on the wrong understanding of the crisis will continue to fail.
“A wrong diagnosis leads to a wrong treatment. We are not dealing with neighbourhood misunderstandings, we are facing a war,” he declared.
(Idoma Voice)
