With Joke Adeniyi-Jackson
The peaceful fraternal relationship that existed between the Hausa and Yoruba people in Kanbi, on the outskirt of Ilorin, Kwara State, came under severe threat on Tuesday.
It was a day like any other, but that normalcy took turn for the worse at dusk when a minor dispute snowballed into a violent clash. There were reports that lives were lost in the bloody clash.
It was learnt that the crisis was stoked when a Hausa boy accused a boy of Yoruba extraction of stealing his phone, which led to altercation between the duo. The decision of the Hausa boy’s kinsmen to rise to his defense culminated in the bloody clash. The ripple effect of the clash spread to neighbouring Oloru community.
Peace took flight from the communities while business and other lawful activities were paralysed as pandemonium took centre stage. The people were robbed of their tranquil and peaceful life.
It is unfortunate that people who have co-existed peacefully in brotherly bond for long could take arms against themselves like sworn enemies. What could be described as trivial set the communities on fire. But for the quick intervention of security agents the story would have been worse.
This inter-ethnic fight is, however, highly condemnable. It is disheartening that tolerance has been relegated to the background and hostility is fast taking front seat in people’s affairs. People need to understand that we can’t rule out differences, civility should always prevail for peace to reign. It is unfortunate that people take law into their hands and do not recourse to the law enforcement agencies whenever they have differences with their fellow citizens. The lives that were lost would have been saved if the case of the phone theft had been duly reported to the nearest police station. It is high time people refrain from taking laws into their hands on civil issues.
People of all extractions should learn to co-exist peaceful with their hosts and settler communities. The host too must be accommodating at all times; issues of discrimination has mostly than never fuelled clashes between hosts and settlers. We all need to understand that Nigeria belongs to us all and every citizen has a right to live anywhere in the country. There must be attitudinal change in mindset and orientation of people towards inter-ethnic differences through proper enlightenment. The youth in particular should be educated on the futility of such clashes. They need to appreciate the need for unity in diversity. The people in the affected communities need to understand that there is much gain to harness if they go out of their way in order to maintain peaceful coexistence among themselves, despite all conflicts, tensions and provocations
Violent clash is evil in all ramifications, leads to destruction, impedes progress. The cost of crisis is immeasurable; some damages are irreversible such as deaths. In light of this, the indigenes and settlers should be ready to coexist and cooperate, and contain their differences and conflicts without recourse to violence.
The law enforcement agents must investigate the issue thoroughly and all those found culpable should be brought to book to serve as deterrent to others. It is by so doing that communal clashes or inter- ethnic fights can be curbed. In doing this, it is incumbent on law enforcement agents to repose confidence in the public by being fair to all in carrying out dispute resolution responsibilty among aggrieved people.
At this juncture, one must commend the state police command and other security agencies in the state for prompt response to the crisis and thus, saving the situation from escalating. It was learnt that the Commissioner of Police, Kayode Egbetokun was at the communities to address residents yesterday and arrests were also made.
However, the community heads and religious leaders in the affected communities also have a role to play in maintaining peace in their domains. They have a role to play in ensuring inter-ethnic relationships that are cordial and symbiotic. This will go a long way to foster ethnic harmony and coexistence.
To halt this ugly trend, the state government on its part must ensure that those found to be perpetrators or sponsors of such crises irrespective of their status in the society, be brought to book and punished accordingly to serve as deterrent to others for peace to reign and development thrive in the state. It is the responsibility of any government to prioritise protection of lives and property for economic growth and overall development. It is common knowledge that peace is crucial to our development, progress, and prosperity and should therefore be protected by all.
