Herdsmen Killings: The moment Osinbajo threatened to resign from his job

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has come under a series of attacks lately, for allegedly not doing enough to halt the killings of Christians by nomadic herdsmen in the north central region of the country.

Osinbajo is a Christian Pastor from one of the biggest churches in Nigeria and some Christians are of the opinion that he should be looking out for them a lot more as one of their own.

The attacks have been coming in thick and fast in the direction of the nation’s number two citizen especially in the social media space; amid growing insinuations that Osinbajo has become only a passenger in a presidency with an ethnic cleansing agenda.

Well, it appears the VP has had enough.

Osinbajo defends himself

With President Buhari’s blessings, Osinbajo has been visiting camps for internally displaced persons in Benue this week to dispense a message of hope and cheer.

On Wednesday, May 16, 2018, Osinbajo was headlining a stakeholders meeting at the new Banquet Hall of the Government House in Makurdi, Benue, when one of the speakers, the Catholic Bishop of Gboko, His Lordship, Williams Avenya, took him on.

“The point I’m trying to make is that a day is going to come when you as the Vice President, will bear the brunt of that problem of injustices in our land, especially those perpetrated on smaller ethnic groups that have no one to fight for them.

“So, as a Christian person, exonerate yourself from this situation”, the Bishop concluded as the atmosphere went from calm to tense in a flash.

The Bishop was suggesting that Osinbajo resigns his position as the nation's Vice President.

Osinbajo often smiles or chuckles his way out of moments like this. Wednesday was no different.

“My Lord Bishop, you said you are not a politician. I am also not a politician”, the Vice President began. “As a matter of fact, I’m also a priest and I’m a Christian, a born again Christian. Because I’m a born again Christian, my destiny is not determined by any man but by God who I serve”.

Osinbajo has been accused of trampling on his Christian beliefs and values at the expense of his job. At this meeting, the Vice President told his audience that he would rather leave his job than abandon his faith.

And that if it came to choosing between his faith and compromising his values, he would go with the former.

“Let me assure you that under no circumstances, none whatsoever, will I give up my faith or refuse to stand up for my faith. You can take that to the bank.

“Even the position that I currently occupy, I did not ask for it and I’m prepared to leave it at short notice. It doesn’t mean anything. I became a born again Christian after I became a professor, a professor of the law of evidence, a professor of proof.

“But when the Lord Jesus Christ met me, he persuaded me by showing me clearly that there is such a thing as the evidence of things that are not seen.

“It is because of the evidence of things that are not seen, it is because you can make something out of nothing that I stand here today as Vice President", Osinbajo said.

You could hear a pin drop at this point. But Osinbajo wasn’t done.

How could anyone even remotely suggest that he is not bothered by the killings because he is in government?, he asked rhetorically.

“How possible can anyone say that the killing of women and children doesn’t matter because he is Vice President or because he is President? How is that possible? Certainly, it cannot be for a person who is born again. A renewed mind will know that there is justice, there is consequence even if there is no justice here on earth”, Osinbajo said, bemusement splashed across his face.

Osinbajo says there's no agenda to kill Christians

The Vice President added that there is no agenda to kill Christians in the north central States of Nigeria as some sections of the society have alleged.

“I do not accept and I do not believe that there is an agenda”, Osinbajo offered sternly.

Herdsmen have killed over 200 persons in the States of Benue, Taraba, Zamfara, Kaduna and Plateau since the turn of the year.

Analysts say the perpetrators have been Fulani herders who have carried on with impunity only because President Buhari is also of the Fulani ethnic stock.

During his visits to camps for displaced persons including to the camp in Anyiin in Logo Local Government area of Benue, Osinbajo assured victims that they will soon get their lives back.

According to him, "I want to say to you that although you have been through difficulties and have suffered a lot, in the nearest future, you will have reasons to rejoice."

President Buhari has approved the sum of N10Billion for the rehabilitation of communities destroyed during constant clashes between herdsmen and farmers.

Source: Pulseng