By Gabriel Udeh, Kaduna
The new leadership of the Atyap Community Development Association (ACDA) said concentration and putting effort towards resolving and changing the narrative of bloodletting and war, to peaceful coexistence for development and progress of people, would be their utmost priority.
The President of the Association, Comrade Silas Adamu Tsuu, made the declaration shortly after inauguration and oath of office of their executive at the Agwatyap Palace, (Atak-njeh, Zangon Kataf), Kaduna state, on Wednesday.
Comrade Adamu Tsuu, in a statement made available by Jacob Zango, on Friday, said the new Executive members of the ACDA, will rollout strategies, in conjunction with the peace committee set up by the Palace, with “our brothers and sisters that we’ve being together for years; the Hausa and Fulani communities and other ethnic nationalities in our land, alongside government agencies and the state government, to find lasting solutions and peace in Atyap land in Southern Kaduna.
The ACDA President however noted that efforts for peace building have been difficult and would continued to posed very grave challenges because of internal contradictions placed by human blockade. He said as a people, they are finding it difficult to accept that the only solution to the carnage, “is to turn their minds to the search for peace, as no one has come out with any meaningful alternative to the peace efforts initiated by the Palace some months ago.
Comrade Silas Adamu stated that “it is this effort that people are presently enjoying the little understanding we have at the moment, and commending all parties that have made themselves available as change agents for peaceful coexistence, especially the Agwatyap and other patriots of the land. He therefore called on those who are yet to appreciate the need for peaceful co-existence to queue behind the efforts initiated by the Palace.
Adamu said issues identified as militating against quick return to peace in the area “is that the main belligerents, who are the primary parties in the conflict, have not been faithful to some of the terms of the peace summit held to broker peace in our land as parties have not refrained from incitements and actual altercations which have put some doubts in the minds of doubters that the summit was a failure.
The ACDA President said while they showed extreme objections to these breaches leading to loss of lives through skirmishes occasioned by guerilla tactics, they hasten to call on all parties to sheathe their swords as conflict is an ill wind that blows no one any good.‘
’We hasten to note that another hindrance to the peace efforts is the dangerous aspect that these primary parties involved in the conflict that are being controlled by secondary parties whose interest in the conflict is more sinister with economic and political undertones but standing aloof and pretending not to be part of the conflagration’’, he stated.
Dr. Comrade Adamu observed that this has further exacerbated the problem at peace building, with interests that are different from the main belligerents but more sinister to their brotherliness, “this almost intractable problem needs to be taken headlong by identifying these shadow parties to the conflict and in order to stem the killing and maiming of their people.
’We can no longer continue to pretend that the best form of leadership we can give to our people, Atyap, Hausa, Fulani and all is to continue to allow blood flowing in the land, with deaths dotted here and there, houses and other property being burnt, while the sponsors of the conflict or merchants smile to the bank and feasting on the blood of our people’’, he added.
The President call on all to reject the impression that their land is a land that devours its inhabitants and shall work hard to reverse the trend to make it a land flowing with milk and honey. Comrade Adamu expressed optimism that this is achievable within a very short time if all hands are on deck in the search for peace.
“And this can actually be escalated first at our level of understanding of the problems that brought about the problem and get the conflict entrepreneurs out of our land for good”, he stated.
He therefore call on all well-meaning sons and daughters of their land, Atyap, Hausa, Fulani and other nationalities both within Nigeria and the diaspora to support every effort at reconciling, rehabilitating and reconstructing their people for genuine peace.
The ACDA President commended the Kaduna State Government, under the leadership of Malam Nasir el-Rufai, “as he continued to give them tremendous support in the search for peace and noting that soon, the new executives shall further strong bonds of consultations in this regards for a quick return to peaceful relations amongst the ethnic groups who have lived peacefully for years and created good economic-political environment that led to the growth of so many flourishing individuals that have had their mark in the progress of our people and the state in general.
He also commended the efforts of the out-going Executives led by Prof. Lucius Bamaiyi that has done so much to hold the thin threads of unity and peace together and, “We hope to tap from your wealth pf experience in moving our people to the promised land and thanked the security agents for its efforts, and appeal to all our people to remain peaceful by eschewing violence”.
