In Search of Peace in Ebiraland

Written by: Olufemi Yahaya

Posted by: Dr. Joseph Ozigis Akomodi, New York, USA.


Like people groping in darkness for light, the Ebira people in Kogi State are now more than before determined and desperately seeking for peace to end the orgy of violence in their area. Not minding the cost, the stakeholders in Ebiraland have again stretched hands of fellowship for dialogue over what they say has brought shame to them with the incessant killings and destruction of property.

Although the search for peace appears Herculean, the setting last Tuesday under a very harmonious and conducive environment far away from the tension at home could be the beginning of a new era in the Ebiraland. As rightly encompassed by the host of the peace parley, Justice Moses Bello, who is President of the Customary Court of Appeal in Abuja, the devastating effect of the senseless communal, political and masquerade crisis ravaging the Ebira in the Central Senatorial District of Kogi State is of great concern to every reasonable Ebiraman.

According to him, within the last six years alone, the crisis had led to the wanton destruction of valuables, human lives and unprecedented razing down of buildings and other property. The recent carnage wrecked upon the people by men of the mobile police force where hundreds of houses and billion naira worth of goods and many lives were destroyed have further propelled the people to move for peace.
Justice Bello lamented that the crisis, which he said continues to go from one district to the other in the area, has given rise to arms build-up in the entire Ebiraland and the youths who are active players are making it dangerously impossible to effectively check mate them. According to the legal luminary, apart from the great set back it has caused to the socio-economic and political development of Ebiraland, the crisis have become a source of worry to non-Ebira as well who use the highway that pass through Ebiraland, thus creating bad image for his people.
Speaking on the recent alleged police role in the burning of houses, Bello said the crisis has assumed a new and more disturbing dimension in view of what happened. Sadly, the security agents, who are supposed to help keep peace and ensure the security of life and property, were alleged to have become participants in the destruction of lives and property.

“The recent mayhem in Ogaminana, till this moment, the police authorities have not shown any remorse. Similarly, the state and local governments have not made any tangible moves in sympathy with the innocent victims of the police mayhem,” he said.
Bello, who hosted hundreds of his kinsmen to an all-day peace talks, noted that it was on this basis of the sad state of affairs in Ebiraland that he felt the sense of responsibility and humility to convene the peace parley to reconcile all conflicting sector to help chart a way forward. His speech opened up the channel for other speakers to bare their minds on the calamity and to proffer a solution.

It was a moving and consoling gathering as the Ebira power brokers discussed freely under an atmosphere devoid of the hostile and tense environment that becloud their homes back in Kogi. Ebira politicians were taken to task as speaker after speaker pointed accusing fingers at them for the unnecessary power tussle.
Bello also berated the youths for allowing themselves to be used by self-seeking leaders as tools for negative activities that have caused Ebiraland great set back and serious ridicule.

The parley, however, turned out an open market of confession. A member of the House of Representatives, A.K. Salihu, advocated for another round of talks for politicians and community leaders only who had been identified to have engaged the youths. He lamented the Ogaminana police invasion and promised to table the matter at the National Assembly to force the police to account for their deeds
Alhaji Ahmed Adoke, a public affairs commentator and human rights activist, lamented that as a result of the crisis in the past six years, there has been arms build up in Ebiraland to the extent that over 40 per cent of households possess arms and dangerous weapons of war.

Some of these arms he said are more lethal or sophisticated than the ones used by the security agents, thus making it dangerously impossible for the police to effectively check the militant Ebira boys.
Adoke identified political activities, masquerades activities, clannish sentiment and senseless gangsterisim by an army of Ebira unemployed youths as major causes of the trouble in the area. According to him, short-term measures to curb the situation include the government providing immediate/result-yielding professionally determined police operation in Okene and environs to check the activities of the militant youths and an immediate re-orientation programme for the militant youths; urgent need for Ebira traditional institution to put heads together and the indefinite suspension of masquerade festival/activities.

Long term measures, he said, should include disarming the youths, creation of gainful employment opportunities, and a code of conduct for Ebira political leaders. Other measures would be to ban clubs/organisations that promote masquerades; putting in place effective peace committees; and mass transfer of policemen from the area.
A Reverend Father, Anthony Akande, advocated the evolution of community elders forum that would be saddle with the responsibility of maintaining peace and to ensure the youths went back to school.

Another view was the call on the state government to rather than conducting election in the area appoint sole administrators that are not politicians for the five councils in Ebiraland. At the end of the parley, which lasted over six hours, a 16-point resolution on causes and solutions of the crisis were identified.
Among the solutions agreed upon was the call on political leaders in the area to stop the violence, to work together for peace, a standing committee of elders to oversee activities of political class.

Other suggestions were the call on the federal government to make concerted effort retrieve the illegal arms in Ebiraland, review the sale of Ajaokuta steel complex, redeploy the police in the district, continuous enlightenment of the youth and an emergency programme by the state government to salvage the youths in meaningful activities among others. The roll call at the parley included Senators Mohammed Ohiare and Salihu Ohize, A.K. Salihu, Alhaji Nasiru Sodo, Hajia Ladi Ibrahim, Tom Adaba, and Talif Rajai.

Others are Bishop Haruna Wokili, former Grand Khadi, Alhaji Yunus Abdullah, Prof Abdulsalam, and the five Ohis (paramount rulers) in the area.