By; MOHAMMED KAWU, Bauchi
Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State has charged the 31-member committee saddled with the responsibility of reviewing past commissions of inquiry into Sayawa – Hausa/Fulani- Jarawa crisis to objectively and realistically deliberate on the contentious issues at stake.
He urged the committee members to perform their assigned responsibility without religious, political or sectional prejudice so that at the end of the day there would be a Sayawa Chiefdom to be embrace by all stakeholders.
The Governor, who was speaking Friday while inaugurating the committee appointed last week, expressed confidence that a thorough work would be done towards putting an end to the lingering problem of having Sayawa Chiefdom so that there would be lasting peace in the area comprising Tafawa Balewa and Bogoro LGAs.
He gave the terms of reference of the committee as to resolve the issue of Sayawa Chiefdom as recommended by Justice Bolarinwa Babalakin Judicial Commission of inquiry appointed by the then Federal Military Government to investigate the ethno-religious crisis in Tafawa Balewa with a spilt-over to Bauchi, Dass and Toro LGAs in 1991.
Governor Bala recalled that the crisis which had its root in the long standing mistrust between the Sayawa ethnic group on one hand and the Hausa/Fulani and Jarawa ethnic group on the other hand led to the massacre of lives and destruction of properties, places of worship and other valuables.
According to him, the federal military government had accepted the recommendation of the Babalakin Judicial Commission of Inquiry for the creation of Sayawa Chiefdom, among others, as a means of bringing peace in the then Tafawa Balewa LGA, now comprising Tafawa Balewa and Bogoro LGAs, with the modalities for the creation of the chiefdom left to the state government to decide.
“The Shehu Awak committee was appointed in 1993 to advise on the modalities for the creation of the Sayawa chiefdom. The committee submitted its report to the government, but was however not implemented. The same fate befell the Justice Bala Umar Committee that was appointed in 2001 for the same purpose. Bogoro was however created out of Tafawa Balewa LGA in 1996”.
The Governor also recalled that the Federal Government had produced a White Paper on the report of the Justice Babalakin Commission into the 1991 Tafawa Balewa ethno-religious crisis with the White Paper made available to the Bauchi State Government.
He said the Governor Isa Yuguda administration had made attempt at creating the Sayawa Chiefdom in 2011 with a committee appointed under the Chairmanship of retired General Ibrahim Sabo to review the federal government white paper on Justice Babalakin Commission, Shehu Awak and Justice Bala Umar Committees.
“The State Government produced a White Paper on the report based on which a bill was sent to the State House of Assembly to enact a law for the creation of Sayawa Chiefdom. The Law was enacted by the House as demanded by the Executive and assented to by the Governor in 2011”.
Senator Bala Mohammed however described as unfortunate when the Sayawa Chiefdom had not become a reality, as the aspects of the law regarding the siting of the headquarters and the appointment of Chief for the new Chiefdom were vehemently objected to by the leaders of the Sayawa ethnic group who instituted legal action against the state government, a case that is still unresolved.
Bala said that as responsible and responsive government, they felt desirous of and committed to changing the precarious trajectory of the creation of the Sayawa Chiefdom, with the existing relative peace in Tafawa Balewa and Bogoro Local Government Areas cannot be taken for granted, hence there must be enduring peace in the area.
To this end, he said, the state government under his able leadership resolved to go back to the drawing board by appointing a committee to carefully review the reports of all the previous committees and the law for the creation of Sayawa Chiefdom enacted in 2011.
The 31-member committee under a seasoned diplomat and administrator, Ambassador Jibrin Dada Chinade is to identify the deficiencies in the them and make appropriate recommendations to address the problem of creating Sayawa Chiefdom once and for all.
It has a Special Adviser on General Services in the SSG’s Office, Hashimu Yakubu Kumbala as Secretary, and Co-Secretary – Mrs. Lydia Tsammani appointed on the committee’s inauguration for gender equality, while the Permanent Secretary, General Services Department in the SSG’s Office, Danjuma Garba serving as Assistant Secretary.
Responding shortly after the committee’s inauguration, its chairman, Amb. Jibrin Dada Chinade said on behalf of the members that they were grateful for honouring them with this national and state assignment, attributable to the confidence the government had in each and every one of them.
Amb. Jibrin Chinade emphasized that it is indeed a big national assignment not only for the members of the committee, but all people in Bauchi state and the country in general because, as he puts it, Nigeria is now in a situation that where the first priority of every citizen is to support peace and development.
He explained that without peace there would be no development, no security, saying what Governor Bala Mohammed asked them to do is to assist in finding lasting peace in Tafawa Balewa and the state in general, assuring that his team is capable of tackling this huge political, economic and social challenges.
Chinade, while reassuring the governor of doing their very best, however solicited his cooperation, all the emirates and all the people in the state, adding “we can’t do it alone, we need the support, sympathy and tolerance of all people in the state and the country”.
