Wukari Federation: An Appeal to Reason



Wukari Federation: An Appeal to Reason

By Syvanus Dangoji
Department of Theatre and Performing Arts, ABU Zaria
&
Kabiru Danladi Lawanti
Department of Mass Communication, ABU Zaria

Recently the town of Wukari, in Taraba State has found itself in another avoidable cycle of violence. The incidence which started as a result of misunderstanding related to football led to the death of one person. This led to further vengeance, violence and destruction of lives and properties. It is ironic that this is coming at a time when the Nigerian Super Eagles won the African Cup of Nation in South Africa after 19 years. Football which is regarded as a unifying force where youth should use their energy in sports and exercise became a trigger of conflict that led to this unfortunate development.
For the people of Wukari the celebration that should continue after the victory of the Super Eagles was short-lived and replaced by orgy of violence, reprisals and destruction of places of worship. What is unfortunate is that the casualties suffered are within kith and kin, divided only by religious persuasions and villages of origin within the Wukari federation.
It is our opinion that the people of Wukari, especially the younger generation, should not allow themselves to be used by political and interest groups to disrupt the long-aged peace that the federation enjoyed. The humanitarian crises that such conflicts caused in some part of the country is enough to tell the youth that what the country needs is building bridges of understanding, tolerance and appreciation of the neighborliness that existed within Wukari and its environment.
Community elders, traditional institutions, within the Wukari federation needs to live up to the their expectations of maintaining social cohesion and binding communities together, regardless of minor differences that people have lived with all this while.
There are, as we are aware, serious security challenges that affect the whole country, ranging from unemployment and poverty to loss of traditional values, which are attributed to bad governance. But the most disturbing is the massive proliferation of small arms in the hands of people, which are used quite often in a conflict like this. This makes some of these youth militants in search of war. Relevant security agencies should do more in controlling the circulation of these small arms within the borders of Nigeria.
The way weapons were deployed in this latest conflict is worrying to all and sundry. Northern Nigeria is faced with difficult task of not only dealing with Boko Haram crises or disorganized value system, but it has to also deal with lingering ethno-religious crises that always draw the region backward.
It is pertinent to mention here that democracy, development and good governance cannot thrive in an atmosphere of recurrent communal crises. We therefore call on all who have a role to play in the latest crises, to consider the future generation of not only Wukari but the whole of northern Nigeria and ensure that people of Wukari in particular and Nigeria in general are allow to live in peace and pursue their legitimate livelihoods without such avoidable conflicts.
 

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