By Fidel Ozugha
Geographically, Benue and Enugu are two states in Nigeria that have common boundary as neighbours. Religiously, both of them are Christian states that ruled by governors who confess Jesus Christ as their Lord and personal Saviour. In short, the governor of Benue State is even a clergy – a Reverend Father that wears cassock and celebrates Mass in the order of Roman Catholic Church. Just Enugu State is an Igbo speaking state, there are Igbo speaking indigenes in Benue state as well.
So when Yeletawa in Guma Local Government Area in Benue was under heavy slaughtering and butchering by suspected Fulani herdsmen on Friday, those in Agu-Amed autonomous community ,Eha-Ehamufu in Isi – Uzo Local Government Area of Enugu State received their bloodbath on Sunday, just three days away.
While Benue State loss was alleged to be100, Enugu State has not stopped counting her losses. In the beginning, the number of people killed was counted as seven with two people missing. Now at the time of filing this report, the number has risen to 12 plus the missing two. That of Benue is now said to up 200 souls.
Benue State Gov. Alia
With Benue still leading as for our calculation in the last calculation, additional 100 that surfaced will be counted for the principals concerned. Thus, using our sharing formula ratio of 4:3:2:1; where the host state gets 40%; state of the President gets 30%; state of the Vice President gets 20% while state of the third in command in the country (Senate President who Dr. Godswill Akpabio); Akwa Ibom, gets 10%; it simply Means that Benue State loses 400; Osun State, 300; Borno State, 200, and Akwa Ibom State, 100. When deducted from their Seed Mark of 1000 each; Benue is left with only 200 marks; Osun, 400; Borno, 600; and Akwa Ibom, 800.
In week one, Akwa Ibom got 50 marks for the massive empowerment the Senate President invested in the State. Therefore, the state has now 840 as her MR.
In the case of Enugu State where twelve people were killed and two are missing, 14 people are the victims; and each person is equivalent to ten marks. Thus 140 will be shared in the ratio of 4:3:2:1. Their shares of losses are Benue, 5.6; Osun, 4.2; Borno, 2.8, and Akwa Ibom 1.4. And working with the logic of approximation, Benue has 6; Osun 4; Borno 3 and Akwa Ibom 1. All will appear in the score sheet.
It is now obvious that death by violence is the in-thing now in the country, and most of them are in plural. So what can we do to discourage mass murder in the country? We are not at war but those at like Russia and Ukraine or Israel and Iran have killed more than Nigeria has killed under same duration.
Enugu State Governor Peter Mbah
Facts and figures emanating from the office of Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS) shows that more people have been killed in Nigeria that is not at war than Russia-Ukraine war has killed within one year. In Nigeria, 614, 937. Russia – Ukraine war claimed 67,000 in last one year. What do we do to reduce the volume or eliminate violence entirely in the country?
In this mock version of the competition, we made state that killed to lose only ten marks for each soul but we have to increase the loss to be 50 per person killed, and whereby the killing rises above and beyond five, each extra loss will be 100 marks. Thus killing of five persons occurs in XYZ state, she loses 250 marks. If the figure is, for an instance, seven, it means the extra two persons killed are 200 loss. For the total loss (ML) in the XYZ state, will be 250 plus 200 equal to 750 for the seven persons killed in the XYZ state. So if the figure 750 (ML) is removed from the inherited 1000 (SM), what is left for the state (MR) is 250.
We will start implementing this as we enter July as we strive to perfect the competition during this mock period of the competition. We will concentrate on the multiple negative occurrences in the country like kidnapping, killing, building collapse, strike action, riot, etc. Each occurrence without death remains ten marks loss to the host state.
Caskets of victims of suspected Fulani herdsmen being conveyed to their mass graves
The state can regain marks lost through positive actions like job creation for the unemployed in the state. Each job by the state government, fetches the state ten marks. Anambra State employed about 1,000 teachers, for instance, that will be 10,000 marks gained. Abia State passed a bill for senior citizens to have free healthcare, etc. That will fetch the state a lot of marks. The figure is not yet made available to us to use in scoring her. Lagos State attracted such a global phenomenon as Bill Gates. We look forward to seeing the state that can attract Pope Leo XIV, Christian Ronaldo or Lionel Messi, etc.
Dedicated to the Okpaleke family of doctors where father,mother and their seven children are all in medical profession. The father, Dr Andrew Okpaleke is a retired internal physician and the mother Celina Okpaleke is a Physician’s Assistant.
The children Dr.Chinyere, Dr Okway; Chinelo is a Physician’s Assistant, Dr.Nkiru, Nurse Practitioners are Ifeoma and Queenate; and Dr. Lilian.
