By; MOHAMMED KAWU, Bauchi
Muslim and Christian communities of Yolan Bayara in Miri District of Bauchi Local Government Area have been enjoined by the state government to exhibit decorum and learn to live peacefully with one another irrespective of their differences for their overall development.
The Special Adviser to the state governor on media and publicity, Mukhtar Gidado Mohammed who gave the charge, said that the land in dispute from which the Christian community applied for a piece for use as cemetery is yet to be allocated to any individual, group or organization.
The Special Adviser was over the weekend, responding to a petition by the Muslim community in the Yolan-Bayara area against the provision of land to the Christians community for a cemetery, when he said that government can provide land based on overriding public interest.
Gidado said, “Our attention as a Government has been drawn to a press conference addressed by Yolan-Bayara community behind Bayara Hospital in Bauchi today. To set the record straight, CAN Bauchi state chapter has applied to the state government for a piece of land for the purpose of having a grave yard which is in Bayara area in the outskirt of Bauchi metropolis”.
The Adviser said, “The state government has directed that 50 hectres of land be sought out and be allocated to CAN for the purpose it was requested, however the land area where CAN has made its request be processed and allocate to CAN for the purpose it was requested, the total area was about 470 hectres. While the processes for allocation is still on, government formed a committee under the Deputy Governor, Senator Baba Salihu Tela with few members who are technical experts in the area of land survey and usage”.
According to him, the committee is to inspect the land and advise the government as appropriate, saying “Following the inspection by the deputy governor and members of the committee, the Muslim community has written a petition to the government claiming that the land belong to them”.
“The land in question is yet to be formally given out, as the government is still studying the processes, the public should therefore note that in allocating a government land to individuals and organizations, due process and decorum must be followed, and where the land belong to the people, compensation must also be paid”.
He explained that both Muslims and Christians have the rights to apply for land for grave yards, and the government in its usual characteristics of respecting the dead and living, the inspirational government of Governor Bala Mohammed can use its discretion based on law to allocate lands to both parties with strict adherence to due process and decorum.
Adviser Mukhtar Gidado said, “Therefore in this circumstance, government would as usual respect both religions in the overall interest of justice, tranquility and peaceful co-existence. This is the position of the state government on this particular matter”.
Gidado appealed to the press that issues of such magnitude or contention, particularly religious and political issues at this time of elections approach are very sensitive, they should therefore play the game according to its rules by adhering strictly to the provisions of their code of ethics, especially in areas where it involves religion and political tensions, the profession must be practice in peace and tranquility.
The Yolan-Bayara Muslims Community had earlier during the day addressed a press conference at the NUJ Secretariat where they petitioned to the government, claiming that the land said to have been allocated to the Christians community for the purpose of grave yard provision belong to them.
The press conference which was led by one Sani Sarki Yakubu said that the land in question belong to their fathers and forefathers some of whom have their dead bodies lying buried there, so allocating the same land to Christians community for the purpose of cemetery would mean exhuming bodies of the dead Muslims and replacing them with dead Christians.
Malam Sani Yakubu expressed the believe that some of the buried Muslims on the land if to be exhumed now, would by the benevolent of Allah have their dead bodies physically intact, while others decomposed which exhuming them would not only be a threat, but also nuisance to the society, thereby creating misunderstanding or dispute among the two faith parties.
Yakubu explained that they were not against the provision of land to the Christians community for the purpose of having a cemetery, but urged the government to critically look at the issue in dispute for amicable solution, saying there have been lands all over the place for possible substitution of cemetery site for the Christians faith.
“The Christians are our brothers and sisters whom we have been living peacefully together all along for decades, and we don’t want anything that could cause misunderstanding between us. We are also loyal to the government, and law-abiding citizens. We similarly want a situation that we can be able to regularly visit our dead fathers and forefathers to pray for them”, Yakubu said.
He explained that the Muslims community were in total support for the government to provide a befitting site for cemetery to the Christians community with whom they have been living peacefully together for ages, because neither of the two faith can throw away their dead bodies in any hazardous open place, “dead bodies must be buried in cemeteries or grave yards”.
