Afizere Youth Group Accuses Beroms Of Encroachment, Says They Attempting To Change The Original Name Of Kwanga To Kwang
Yakubu Busari
The Chairman Afizere Youth Movement (AYM), Jos North LGA. Comrade Joseph Arin Izang, Jp, has disclosed how the Beroms and Afizere exchange verbal war over an attempt to change, rewrite the history of kanga in kanga district of Jos-north L.G.A in favour of Jos South LGA which belong to their ancestors before the creation of local government in 1976 in Nigeria.
The Chairman press statement was read by the secretary, Comrade Gideon Azi at the Afizere Arena, Gwafan Lamingo .
He said,”We are here today to give an address on a preposterous attempt to change and re-write in daylight robbery the History of our ancestral land, Kwanga District of Jos Izere Chiefdom, Jos North Local Government Area by our brothers, Beroms of Du District in Jos South LGA”.
According to him,” The issues are capable of breaching on the peace and unity in the state if we fail to voice it and quickly look for a resolution”.
Without mincing words, Kwanga District is one of the eleven Districts of Jos Izere Chiefdom that was upgraded from a village by the Joshua Dariye administration in 2005 with retrospective effect to 2002 (See Plateau state Gazette No. 4 Vol.11 of 22nd June, 2006). The name Kwanga itself originated from the word “Kakwang” meaning, “a vast and virgin land without enough soil for farming”. The District was divided into Kwanga A and Kwanga B. During the creation of Jos North and Jos South in 1994, Kwanga A fell into Jos East L.G.A while Kwanga B remained in Jos North L.G.A.
The place encompasses Katon Rikkos, Dilimi bordered by Jos-East and Jos-South L.G.As.
He lamented that to our greatest consternation, only recently, the Beroms started calling Dilimi as Kwang after the 2001 Jos crisis including places originally known as Kwanga. At the initial, Dilimi area well known to all was occupied by the Hausa people who came and settled for mining activities. To further buttress this, had the crisis never occurred and pushed the former occupants in the area now occupied by the Beroms, the name Dilimi would remain and therefore, no confusion in the least. Thus, this confusion and an attempt to create crisis is a very recent one orchestrated by the Beroms after the crisis.
After the 2001 crisis, truce was brokered between the Beroms and Hausas communities in the area. However, the Hausas reneged on that. It took the intervention of the Afizeres to quell and secure the land which led to the aggressors fleeing for fear of any uncertainty.
The Beroms on their part, demolished houses around and felt more the name Dilimi as having a Hausa root and summarily renamed the place Kwang, a bastardization of the original name Kwanga, by merely expunging the letter “a”. This has a serious implication and relation to the present crisis and confusion we are experiencing as a deliberate move by the Beroms.
Kwanga B is a State Ward under Lamingo Ward and a Federal Ward under Jos Jarawa Ward in Jos-North L.G.A, with the following three polling units 012, 018 and 019 respectively under the records of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). It became one of the Development Area created during Dariye’s Administration in 2006.
Also, the present location of the Catholic Cathedral under series of serious encroachment by the Beroms was originally owned and sold by nine (9) family members of Izere to Helena farm and later sold to Catholic Arch Diocese of Jos by Helena farm.
The families include:
1.Chief Innocent Bala Izang
- Chief Ibrahim Izang
3.Mai Angwa Azi
4.Mr. Yakubu Agwom
5.Mr. Azi Itsegok
6.Mr. John Ajiji
7.Mr. Nyam Egyen
8.Mr. Ayuba Nyam
9.Mr. Audi Agwom
These names are contained in a Deed of Conveyance for the land with the seal of Akudamus Anakwe and Associates legal practitioners, Eugosiaku Chambers,Shama House no 32,Rwang Pam street, P.O Box 1154 Jos, Plateau state.
The total size of the land is 17,800.00sq/m with a C of O number PL.18226 dated 29/8/2008, the total amount paid was six hundred and twenty two thousand Naira (N622,000.00) without a single Berom being part of that transaction (All the documents are available to see).
Our major concern now gentlemen of the press and the reason why we are here to address you, is the sudden encroachment by our neighbors the Beroms claiming by every means that the place is Kwang, including the Jos Arch-Diocese land bought from Helena farm where the construction of the cathedral is on-going.
During the installations of clergies held on the 15th April, 2021 by His Grace, the Catholic Arch-Bishop of Jos, where the Invitation Card was written Rayfield Lamingo Road and announcement was aired by Plateau Radio Television Corporation (PRTVC) as Kwang Lamingo Road, instead of Kwanga Lamingo road.
We find it absurd that the Catholic Arch Diocese of Jos and PRTVC are being misled to forcefully rename Kwanga District to Kwang as has been distorted by the Beroms. The Catholic Church as a Universal Church has been an ardent advocate of dialogue, reconciliation and peace. It is unfortunate that some of our brothers in the faith are projecting an evil agenda to satisfy their tribal interests at the detriment of peace and the purpose with which the church is meant to serve.
Consequently, it is evident that the Director of Communication Rev. Fr. Oscar Pam, the Editor in Chief of the Catholic Publication, “The Word of Life”. Mr Eric Pam and the Architects of the Cathedral Project have one agenda, which is to deliberately change the name from Kwanga to Kwang. These are clear use of institutions and positions with insiders to frustrate, oppress and manipulate to the disadvantage of others.
Other institutions that are domiciled in Kwanga District include the Stanel Filling Station, Liberty Dam and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA). The Izere people of Kwanga District were adequately compensated as evidenced in File No. BOG081 (1971) and File No. 249 (1974)
Some of the areas in Kwanga in Jos-North L.G.A that the Beroms are actively encroaching include the Primary Health Care, LGEA Church of Christ in Nations (COCIN) and Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA). They are causing disaffection and claiming that those places are in Kwang in Jos-South LGA. As peace loving and law abiding citizens, we should not be taken for granted because peace cannot be guaranteed anymore if this anomaly continues.
OUR DEMANDS:
- The Catholic Arch Diocese of Jos should direct its Director of Communication, Rev. Fr. Oscar Pam and his cohorts to stop calling the Place Kwang, along Rayfield Road but Kwanga, Lamingo road in Jos North LGA since the land whereupon the Catholic Cathedral sits is in Kwanga District in Jos-North L.G.A.
- The Two management committee Chairmen of Jos-North and Jos-South L.G.As should invite the national Boundary commission to demarcate a clear boundary between Kwanga District in Jos-North LGA and Du District of Jos-South LGA.
- The management of Plateau Radio Television Corporation (PRTVC) should restrain its staff from airing such announcements that are always sowing the seeds of discord between the two communities.
In conclusion, to us as a people, there is no better time than now to air our grievance because the state is presently blessed with a humble and servant Governor, Rt. Hon. Barrister Simon Bako Lalong, whose cardinal philosophy is the pursuit of peaceful co-existence amongst the people of Plateau State as well as objectively upholding justice and liberation of all ethnic nationalities, communities and social groups on the Plateau.
We pray fervently that his Excellency the Executive Governor of Plateau State will live long to see his dream for a better Plateau come to fruition. On our part, we remain loyal to his administration and we shall continue to express the peaceful disposition of our people for which we are known and exhaust all internal mechanisms to protect our heritage, values and our ancestral Land in addressing all areas of misunderstanding, provocation and mis-representation as they relate to our people and the state at large. For further enquiries, you can meet us for more documents as we are ready to furnish every relevant document to buttress our facts.
