In a bold move to ensure lasting peace in Toto Local Government Area of Nasarawa so, Governor Abdullahi A. Sule said his administration will send a bill to the House of Assembly to give legal backing to the executive order that actualised Turunku chiefdom.
Engineer Sule made this known during a meeting brokered by the Government to bring lasting peace in Toto Local Government area which held at the Government House recently.
The governor said the only way to legalise the actualised Turunku chiefdom by past administration of Senator Umaru Tanko Al-Makura is to send a bill to the House of Assembly and to pass it into a law. Sule urged critical stakeholders, especially from the Egbirra and Bassa ethnic extractions, to seize the oppoturtunity of the public hearing to be conducted to resolve the matter for good.
He, however, warned that the entire process will have to follow a stipulated timeline, in order to allow for the passage of the law as well as allow the displaced Bassa people to return to their villages. ’’Whatever the people of Toto agreed upon I will sign. Nobody is taking sides but we have to follow these things logically, lawfully and peacefully, so that at the end of the day, we will all agree’’. the governor stated.
Engineer Sule explained that other critical stakeholders from Toto LGA were invited for the meeting aside the Ohimegye Opanda and the Aguma Bassa because it has taken a long for the aggrieved parties to discuss their differences.
The governor noted that the Turunku chiefdom created by the military regime was done in order to bring peace to the area, stressing that the executive order that actualised the chiefdom clearly stated that the essence of restricting the chiefdom to a particular area is so that when there is peace the people can discuss further.
Sule expressed serious concern about the plight of the Bassa people presently living in exile, saying the speedy resolution of the crisis will facilitate the quick return of displaced persons to their villages.
Speaker of the Nasarawa State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Ibrahim Balarabe Abdullahi, said the assembly as well as state government are resolved in finding lasting peace in Toto Local Government. ‘’We in Toto LGA are more than ready to embrace peace. We are known as peacemakers. But its always my prayer that whoever will not promote peace, whoever will not embrace peace in Toto LGA, God will take care of him‘’, the speaker said.
The Ohimegye Opanda, HRH Alhaji Usman Abdullahi, hoped that it would be the last they are meeting to bring lasting peace in Toto LGA, urging those that believe that violence is the solution to their demands to put that aside.
He said what the agitators couldn’t get by peace they can’t get through crisis.
The royal father urged the state Ministry of Justice to put up a peace pact to be signed by both parties, warning that any one that violates the peace agreement should be sanctioned by government. The peace meeting which was at the instance of the state government had in attendance all critical stakeholders from Toto LGA and major ethnic groups in the area, namely, Egbirra, Bassa, Gbagyi, Gade and Hausa.
Traditional rulers serve a great deal of importance in promoting, building, managing and resolving conflicts in their domains. Based on their role and involvement in resolving crisis, the protracted Toto conflict will no doubt come to an end with the full involvement of traditional rulers.
It is on record that past administrations set up administrative panels to investigate the cause of Toto conflicts . These panels came up with recommendations to resolve the crisis. However, implementation of such recommendations was always difficult. Each time there was violence in Toto, government suppressed the crisis by deploying security agents to maintain law and order but as soon as they were withdrawn the crisis resurfaced.
This circle of violence can be resolved if traditional way of ending crisis is adopted now that all parties in the crisis have traditional rulers. The traditional rulers in Toto and indeed Nasarawa state should trace the roots of how conflicts were traditionally resolved between two disputing ethnic groups.
Resolving conflicts in a traditional way was indeed most effective and all parties have what is called win-win outcome. The Rwadan conflict of 1994 is a typical example where within the space of three years over 800 lives were lost in the crisis between the Hutus and Tutsis. The United Nations described the crisis as the modern genocide after the second world war. But Rwandans came together and resolved their problem. Today, the country is one of the most peaceful and fast developing countries in Africa.
Toto crisis is worrisome. How can a group of people that lived together for years, share boundary on their farms, go to the same market, drink from the same stream and in some cases live in same villages take up arms against each other and baptize themselves.
This battle must end and dialogue is the best option to end it. It was therefore pleasing to hear that leaders, stakeholders, traditional rulers and their teams in Toto from the major ethnic groups recently had a roundtable peace talk for the soul of Toto.
It is heartwarming after the meeting news filtered through the air that Ohimegye Opanda and president Toto Local Government Traditional Council Alh. Usman Abdullahi spoke well during the meeting touching on issues that can bring and sustain peace. This is what fits a man for exemplary leadership.
By his disposition as a respected royal father to all, his pronouncements at that meeting cannot be doubted. The presence of other royal fathers or their representatives at the meeting makes it a unique one. The stakeholders of Toto should use this veritable platform in their subsequent meetings and discuss far reaching issues that can bring peace in Toto. God does not make mistake when He makes people from different ethnic groups coming together to form family and communities. Therefore the coming together of the Egbirra and Bassa to occupy a territory callef Toto and Bassa LGA is not a mistake. Often, people say let’s forget our differences for the peace of Toto. No. We should understand our differences for a cordial relationship.
In 2018, when Engineer Sule was aspiring to governors, he assured he would employ diplomacy in resolving the Bassa-Egbirra ethnic crisis. Governor Sule has just begun the process in fulfillment of his promises and needs the support of all and sundry to succeed. Toto used to be a very viable LGA with abundant foodstuff and rich cultural heritage, which had been destroyed by continuous crisis in the area.
The peace of Toto can be discussed in Government House and else where but most importantly the peace of Toto is within the hearts of Totolites. If the peace initiative by Governor Sule is backed with sincerity by the people of Toto, then a new brand Toto is possible.
Matthew writes from Lafia via [email protected]
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