The Emir of Wase, Alh Dr Mohmmadu Haruna has cried out to Journalists that the crisis in Wase Local Government Area, the violence in the locality has claimed several lives, and rendered survivors homeless.
The Emir stated this at his Palace on yesterday when the media tour team visited his Palace; the Emir stressed that “Wase has experienced bloodshed for over two years, we have not seen our brothers from the others side for over a long period.”
According to him, Wase crisis was ethnic, not religious as it has been insinuated in some quarters “the problem of Wase has never been religious, but ethnic, one tribe against 27 others.”
He pointed out that the crises in the locality has displaced residents from their traditional homes, and kill many. “Over 180 villages has been destroyed in Wase for the past two years, all most all our public schools have been occupied by internally displaced persons.”
This medium gathered that the Council Secretary of Wase Local Government who is a Tarok speaking national, cannot step his foot in Wase Council secretariat; council meetings that he must attend are held on in neighboring council areas consider safer.
Contributing in an interview with Journalists, the Transition Council Chairman of Wase Haruna Zakari, said criminality in Wase was a syndicate criminal minded people.
“The criminality in Wase is a syndicate, a few of our youth who are indulge in such activities do collaborate with other criminal minded persons in other communities to commit crime, particularly cattle rustling.”
Mr. Haruna revealed that the Wase crisis has affected negatively on economy of the council “with this development, our local markets are no longer functioning, most people has no assess to their farms due to continued attacks.”
In a related development, Communication and Learning Manager of Search For Common Ground (SFCG) Chima Onwe, has identify lack of proper mediation between communities in Plateau state to be the major source of conflicts, resulting to deaths of innocent persons.
Mr. Chima made the observation on Saturday in Jos, while briefing Journalists at the end of a 5 day tour of eight prone insecurity local government areas of the state, he said the organization was training the communities leaders as quick respond team to mediate between conflicts as a means of minimizing loose of lives.
According to the Search For Common Ground (SFCG) Communication and Learning Manager, the organization hope to train about 2500 local mediation leaders in the next two years, on how to respond to early warning signs of violence; as part of it’s contributions in averting hostilities in the state, that has lasted for about 14 years.
Mr. Chima had earlier during the tour at various venues where trained community leaders testified on how the mediation training has assisted in resolving conflicts that might have laid to loose of lives.
He revealed that the programme in the past one year, was been implemented in Riyom, Jos north, Jos South, Barkinladi Bokkos, Qua-anpan, Shendam and Wase local governments areas has trained 800 community expert mediators and has successfully assisted in mitigating in conflicts.
Speaking on his experience, a displaced community leader from Tofa Istifanus Zarmai, reiterated that the Wase violence was not religious “all the churches and Mosque in Tofa are still standing, but no human being is there, we all run for our lives.”
The training of 32 community leaders of Wase organized by Search For Common Ground, (SFCG) was held in Barkiladi, northern Plateau state for safety of participants.
Mr. Chima said the training was aimed at training about 2500 community leaders in total, as a means of resolving conflicts at the local level, before it escalate into violence crisis.
Meanwhile, a community leader in the prone insecurity area of Yelwan Shendam local government area of Plateau state Abdullahi Abdullahi, identify non arrest and punishment of suspected criminals among communities was the major challenge in curtailing violence in the state.
Mr. Abdullahi stressed that “Whether we like it or not, we are living with criminals among us, and we have to expose them.”
In Qua-anpan Local Government Area, Zakari Ibrahim, said abuse of drugs among youth in the area has been the cause of violent clashes.
According to the community leader, high rate intakes of hard drugs, particularly Indian-hem among youth was much in the locality, and thereby increase crime rate, he revealed that the youth in the past prevented officials of National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) from performing their duties in the area.
“They have severally prevented officials of National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) from entering Kurgwi and effecting arrest on them, but with the intervention of Search for Common Ground, and our discussion as leaders with dealers and consumers of Indian -hem within our localities, the situation is relatively better at the moment.”
He stressed that “it is pathetic that it only in Kurgwi that Indian-hem is sold in public in Nigeria, and our youth are highly indulged in the drug intake, and as a result commit various forms of crimes.”
