Stakeholders from the Lunguda and Waja Communities of Balanga Local Government Area of Gombe State have met to dialogue over the recurring violent attacks amongst them and how peaceful coexistence can be restored in both communities.
The dialogue was organised by the West Africa Network for Peacebuilding, WANEP, through the Gombe State Ministry of Women Affairs. It intended to engage the two community leaders to disseminate the message of peace among them, as well as create the needed awareness to drastically lower tensions in the crisis.
Prominent among those present at the event were the representatives of both communities, including the paramount ruler of the Waja Ethnic Nationality, Mr. Mohammad Danjuma Muhammad and the District Head of Nyuwar, Mr. James Pisaghi, representing the Lunguda Tribe.
Lingering crisis
Participants attributed the lingering crisis in their communities to bad governance, environmental factors, population growth, poor land administration, as well as socio-economic factors, poverty and illiteracy, among others.
For the Paramount ruler of the Waja People, His Royal Highness Danjuma, it was necessary for peace to be sought at all cost because there was no way progress and development could take place in the midst of violence.
The Balawaja urged leaders of both tribes to guard their utterances, some of which, he said, if not weighed, were capable of incitement and escalating the crisis, which still held people in fear.
“You will see that from nowhere, someone will come and say this had happened. Let us make sure every message is verified before any step is taken. I pray that whatever we are going to gain here would be added to already existing peace initiatives so that the desired long-lasting peace will be achieved,” Balawaja said.
He said ”a minor issues were what led to the present lingering crisis between the two tribes and that it must be the work of the devil, because for time immemorial, the Lunguda and Waja tribes had lived together and intermarried with no rift whatsoever between them.
“The crisis is not pleasant to anyone, even those responsible for the violence. I pray that God will make them realise their wrongdoing and so repent from the evil.”
For the District Head of Nyuwar, former Secretary to the Gombe State Government, Mr. James Pisaghi, wars are not won on the battlefield, rather through negotiations, hence welcoming the one-day dialogue, which would further give insight and directions on what went wrong and what should be done to arrest the situation.
New spate of violence
Mr. Pisaghi lamented the new spate of violence between the Luguda and Waja people, who had for over 300 years lived together with no single instance of rifts between them.
He said; ”all parties should retrace their steps, tell each other the truth and adopt maturity of minds, so as to bring the crisis to an end, because despite various peace meetings and dialogues, the crisis still lingered on, believing that something must be wrong somewhere.
“If we continue to pretend that all is well, then we will continue to have this kind of endless dialogue until one day, we will not be up to five people who will attend, because there is no result. I pray that the Almighty God give us the grace, He softens the hearts of those who are very hardened to continue to perpetrate these criminal activities amongst us all. Having lived together all this while, we are not happy. I always tell people, I am the District Head of Nyuwar, my mother is Waja by tribe, so, you want to kill me and go an tell my people there that you left me where.”
He urged participants to think in the reverse order, to generate new ideas to move forward.
Lasting peace
Religious leaders from the Christian and Muslim Faiths took time to elaborate on the need for lasting peace between the two tribes, such that the truth of the whole crisis should be unravelled, deceptions rid of and that the youths in those communities must be sensitised on the need for peaceful coexistence between them.
The speakers said stubborn youths, especially their leaders, should be sensitised and made to express themselves, so that the right solutions would be proffered for the end of the recurring crisis.
They call for patience and tolerance between them, which they believe could bring about the needed peaceful coexistence.
The organisers of the one-day dialogue, WANEP-Nigeria, which is currently partnering with the Norwegian Agency for International Cooperation on a project ”Enhancing Participation of Women in Peace and Human Security in Nigeria, is equally supporting Balanga Local Government Area to develop a Local Action Plan for the implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325. This underscores the importance of women in the prevention and resolution of conflicts, while calling for their equal participation in peacebuilding.
Against this background, the National Coordinator of WANEP Nigeria, Mrs. Bridget Osakwe, said local mapping was needed to identify the perpetrators, more women should be involved in resolving the crisis and that it was only stakeholders from within the communities that could tackle the issues and not any stranger coming from outside.
Mercy Chukwudiebere
