Over 200 people were massacred in Yelewata and other parts of the Guma area of Benue State last week. It was just another episode in a series of attacks dating back to more than a decade and a crisis that has existed for several decades but only accentuated by the introduction of sophisticated weapons in recent years. For the dare devil herdsmen, this mayhem is cause for celebration and gloating. For the vulnerable people of Benue, it has been nothing but grief and agony. The natural feelings, desire and prayers right now are for nothing but justice and retribution.

A society without justice and the rule of law will not survive. One of the characteristics of a failing nation is lack of Justice. Wherever crime and impunity reign unchecked, the society cannot survive. As Israel stepped out of Egypt, God met the nation in the wilderness and made a covenant with them. Justice was one of the foundations laid by God for the nation of Israel in the Law of Moses. There were 617 Laws and regulations covering spiritual, moral, ethical and social spheres. Adherence to these rules constituted ‘Righteousness’ in the sight of God and man. In revealing Himself to Moses, God showed that He is primarily a God of love, mercy and grace. He is full of compassion and truth. Yet, He will not pardon iniquity and transgressions where His mercy is rejected.‘

And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.”’‭‭Exodus‬ ‭34‬:‭6‬-‭7‬ ‭NKJV.

The text was almost self contradictory in my view. How can a God of mercy who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin be the same one who will not cheat the guiltless but visit their iniquities on four generations from them? The Holy Spirit showed me that there are hardened sinners who, like Pharaoh, will reject every plea for mercy until they hurt, maim, kill and destroy other people. Only judgement will restrain them. They must be arrested, tried, and jailed. God judges in order to restrain evil men and women. In the same vein, until our government musters up the courage to deal with the daredevil herdsmen and terrorists, they will continue to perpetrate their heinous crimes.

Having said the above, however, we must also acknowledge the unfortunate resort to reprisals in the face of the failure of the government to act. Some homegrown militants in the past have also attacked the herdsmen in desperation. I do not blame them because they felt helpless and pushed to the wall. However, the Lord Jesus passed a verdict against retribution and His Apostles towed the same line. This was because with the introduction of the Grace of God, we are able to supernaturally love with the love of God. Responding to hatred with love makes no sense to the natural man but we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery (1 Corinthians 2.6-8). The spiritually mature know that while loving our enemies does not make sense, it is the only way to break a cycle of hatred.

‘But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.’‭‭Matthew‬ ‭5‬:‭44‬-‭45‬ ‭NKJV

‬‬As I watched President Bola Tinubu address the leaders and elders of Benue state, advocating dialogue, peace and reconciliation, I knew for many, it made no sense. Only retribution would work but in every society all over the world and in history, retribution never broke a cycle of hatred and conflict, until people were made to forgive the unforgivable and to love the unlovable. It was the message and mantra of the likes of Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, and Martin Luther King Junior who changed the moral temperatures of their times and emancipated their people from bondage through peaceful revolt and not violent reprisals. I see peace as a possibility in Benue and other conflict spots in Nigeria and around the world if a combination of Justice and love will be administered by all stakeholders.

As for the position that the last Benue attacks were caused by terrorists, they know no language but force and only the ‘Armed Forces’ can provide it. I believe our nation has sufficient capacity to acquire the manpower, technology, and arm nations to defeat them.Victor Adeyemi.