The mafia in the US once upon a time would offer a victim in a deal “an offer you cannot refuse” – meaning the consequences of your refusal were guaranteed to be worse than acceptance. Governors, mostly southern, like Fayose, who have announced their intention to stop grazing in their states in response to popular outcry against herdsmen will find it difficult, if not impossible to keep the herdsmen out unless we adopt a more rational way of addressing the complex issues which a total ranching policy will bring up. The first part of this series pointed out two of those problems last week. One we have no reliable census of the number of cattle we want to put in ranches; nothing on how many ranches will be needed; at a loss concerning how much it would cost to construct a ranch and maintain one.

It was not too long ago when the nation appeared to be on the verge of a total break-up on account of the activities of herdsmen and the atrocities they have allegedly perpetrated countrywide. Governor Fayose, who speaks first and thinks later (if he thinks at all) had pronounced that grazing was no longer allowed in any part of Ekiti State and became an instant hero to people who would not ordinarily consider him a sage. Similar noises have been raised in other places including on the pages of newspapers by respected columnists. One of them after allowing his own opinion to become “the voice of the people” had ordered Buhari to pack all the cattle to Northern ranches immediately. His position found resonance in editorials and articles written by Southerners. Well, while elections are decided by majority vote, wisdom is not a matter of numbers. The majority can be wrong.

Kennedy’s statement, perhaps his most widely quoted observation, slightly amended, not to frighten people, was made to Latin American diplomats on March 12, 1962. It is a befitting reminder to those who are opposed to the idea of restructuring Nigeria today – including President Buhari and Vice President Osinbajo.

History has recorded that the law, even in today’s Europe (before Brexit) has failed miserably to totally wipe out sleeping under bridges, begging in the streets and stealing bread. Napoleon Bonaparte, 1769-1821, emperor of most of Europe, at one time, once scornfully called the British “a nation of shopkeepers”. If a modern day Napoleon were to come to Nigeria and travel all our thirty-six states as well as the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, he could, with irrefutable justification describe Nigeria as a nation of street traders.

Nigeria is descending to a new low in barbarism, which if left unchecked will define the new era of politics. Parents, presumed to be sane, but obviously callous and distressed, now sell their kids to procure food for the rest of the family. Whether the evil is perpetrated with a heavy heart is difficult to say until we conduct a study into the motivations of the few known examples to date. And, the sooner the better, because this trend might gain momentum and become irreversible for a long time to come.