With Joke Adeniyi-Jackson
The people of Kwara State woke up yesterday to the news of a theatre of war that broke out between the indigenes of Offa in Offa Local Government Area and the people of Ijagbo in Oyun Local Government Area of the state.
Scores of people were injured, including two mobile policemen and property worth millions of naira destroyed in the wake of the melee. Gunfire exchange by the warring parties lasted for hours, thus shattering the peaceful atmosphere hitherto enjoyed by the people of the two affected communities. Peace took flight from the communities while business and other lawful activities were paralysed as pandemonium took centre stage. The people of Ijagbo and Offa were robbed of their tranquil and peaceful life.
It is disheartening that in this age and time, ‘brothers’ could take up arms against themselves. These are people who by virtue of their coexistence for ages, have so much in common people; language, culture, communal identity, among others. It therefore came as a rude shock that the people of the two towns who hitherto co-habited peacefully turned against themselves and thus the attendant orgy of bloodletting. The thin line between love and hate snapped, giving room to the ugly episode, which will taint history of the two communities.
What could be described as trivial set the town on fire. The violent uprising was said to have been ignited by dispute over border land between the two communities that have coexisted for ages.
Sadly, communal crisis is fast becoming a dangerous phenomenon in the state, which should be nipped in the bud. It is noteworthy that the state has had a fair dose of recurring communal crises; The Share/Tsaragi and Offa/Erin-Ile, which threatened its peace in the past. The hostilities between Odo-Owa and Ilofa are still fresh in our memories. Ijagbo and Offa has joined the list. It is therefore instructive, that this ugly trend should be nipped in the bud for peace to reign in Kwara, known for its sobriquet, state of Harmony.
This bloody clash is, however, highly condemnable and urgent steps should be taken by the state government to avert future occurrence. It is disheartening that tolerance has been relegated to the background and hostility is fast taking front seat in people’s affairs. We can’t rule out differences, civility should however prevail. People should refrain from taking law into their own hands without recourse to law enforcement agencies whenever they have differences with their fellow citizens. Consequently, it is expected that the law enforcement agents should 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.
So also, there must be attitudinal change in mindset and orientation of people toward thorough proper enlightenment. The youth in particular should be educated on the futility of communal clashes.
War is evil in all ramifications, leads to destruction, impedes progress. The cost of crisis is immeasurable; some damages are irreversible. Many victims of such clashes are haunted by the incidents and bear wound in their psyche for a long time if not for a lifetime. The monarchs of the affected communities also have a role to play in maintaining peace in their domains. The traditional rulers are expected to be in the fore front of peace negotiation and conflict resolution. Effort to resolve conflicts should give priority to the roles of traditional rulers, community/village heads, and the religious leaders who are likely to be more informed on the root causes of the clashes. The royal fathers should be able to proffer traditional practices that can offer alternative ways of ending conflict. This will help to attain post conflict reconciliation, peace building, and prevent reoccurrence of conflicts.
To halt this ugly trend, the state government on its part must ensure that those found to be perpetrators or sponsors of the communal crisis irrespective of their status in the society, are brought to book and punished accordingly to serve as deterrent to others for peace to reign and development to thrive in the state. It is the responsibility of any government to prioritise protection of lives and property for economic growth and overall development. Also commendable is the swift response of the state government to the conflict. The state Governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed had warned that it will deal decisively with perpetrators of communal clash, saying that the clash was avoidable as there are” platforms for redress and to settle emerging communal matters.”
However, peace is crucial to our development, progress, and prosperity and should therefore be protected by all.
