Stop These Savage Killings In Adamawa!

By Mike Ozekhome

The state of Adamawa lies in the northeastern part of Nigeria, with its capital at Yola. It was carved out in 1991 from part of Gongola State, with four administrative divisions, namely Adamawa, Ganye, Mubi and Numan. It is one of the largest states in Nigeria and occupies about 36,917 square kilometres.

The great people of Adamawa State are mostly renowned as farmers. This is reflected in their two notable vegetational zones, sub-Sudan and northern Guinea Savannah zone. Their cash crops are cotton and groundnuts, while food crops include maize, yam, cassava, guinea corn, millet and rice. The village communities living on the banks of the rivers engage in fishing, while the Fulani are cattle rearers. Little wonder that all these have been encapsulated in the slogan of the state, ‘The Land of Beauty.” A visit to the state will not be complete without going to Mubi. Mubi’s clement weather is scintilatingly accommodating for human habitation and Nuhu Auwalu Wakili’s Palace will keep your memory of the state at all times.
Adamawa Now A Shadow Of Itself

The history of violence in Adamawa preceded, but was accentuated by, the menance of blood-letting and violence perpetrated by Boko Haram terrorists and the equally fatal counter-insurgency response by the Nigerian Army. These cumulatively stamped ugly scars and horrendous devastation in Nigeria’s North East. This is evident in the fact that about 2.5 million people are now in dire straits and lack. There is gnashing of teeth. Record has it that Adamawa is the second most affected state in this horrific Boko Haram’s conflict zone. This had led President Goodluck Jonathan (2010 – 2015) to declare a state of emergency in Adamawa, along with neighbouring Borno and Yobe states, due to the bloody activities of Boko Haram.

The state has also seen sustained serial Fulani herders’violent attacks and bloody inter-communal conflicts. For example, clashes between Fulani and agrarian communities in late 2016 and early 2017, in Demsa Local Government Area (LGA), left over 35 people dead and hundreds displaced. Similarly, herdsmen had attacked over 10 villages in central Adamawa between January and July, 2016. The orgy of violence continues.

Recent Crisis Bedevilling The State

Only recently, the valiant people of Numan, Adamawa State, woke up to behold wanton destruction of human lives, after a temporary reprieve, when the state was beginning to enjoy relative peace and security. There is high level tension within the Numan city centre, where riot policemen, who were deployed to the area, are carrying out routine patrol of flashpoints. There is great apprehension among residents of nearby and even far-flung communities from Numan town, as to what fate might befall them. Though details are still sketchy, sources said the late night killings occurred as police tried to arrest some community leaders in Dowaya. The Adamawa State Police Command, however, countered that violence erupted due to overnight clash between farmers and Fulani herdsmen in Safere and Kodomti villages, in Numan LGA, where about 27 people were feared dead. Meanwhile, Adamawa State chapters of Muslim Council and Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), have since condemned the killings and called for the arrest of the perpetrators.

My Humble Plea

I add my voice to that millions of Nigerians to publicly condemn this wanton destruction of life and property, as same are unacceptable, barbaric, cruel, inhuman, primitive and intolerable. These inter-ethnic violent activities of insurgents are drawing us back to the dark days of Thomas Hobbes, when life was short, nasty and brutish. I enjoin government at all levels to immediately bring the perpetrators of the heinous crimes to justice to serve as deterrence. Otherwise, recidivism will rear its ugly head again and again.

*Chief Ozekhome is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN)