Sayawa community in Bauchi State of Nigeria has been given the necessary touchstones for them to achieve their decades old demand for self-determination through the creation of their chiefdom as recommended by the Justice Babalakin Judicial Commission of Inquiry for the Tafawa Balewa crisis of 22nd April 1991.
The Tafawa Balewa Town Development Association which spelled out the criteria, outlined them to include due process to be followed by the government as was done by the Isa Yuguda administration in 2011.
The association said also that “No part of other people’s land would be included in the chiefdom without consulting them, while other tribal groups should be given the option to be in the chiefdom or Bauchi Emirate.
He said in a statement made available to the press recently that lives and properties of innocent neighbours were not destroyed as was done in 1991, 1995, 2001 and 2011 when hundreds of innocent lives were massacred and properties worth hundreds of millions of naira were destroyed.
The statement signed by the association’s chairman and secretary, Shu’aibu Salej Umar and Yunusa Ado respectively said that their members have made it abundantly clear for the umpteenth time that they have no objection to the Sayawa having their chiefdom.
It could be recalled that the Justice Babalakin Commission of Inquiry had in 1991 during its proceedings identified and listed some of the culprits in the Tafawa Balewa mayhem when it recommended for full investigations and prosecution of the culprits.
The association’s chairman and secretary regretted that successive governments in the state failed to do the needful, which according to them, gave the false believe to the Sayawas that they can always achieve whatever they wanted and go scot free.
“The previous governments in the state have shirked their responsibilities of arresting and prosecuting the culprits of the most -bloody 1991 attack on the innocent people of Tafawa Balewa Local Government Area which is home to a dozen of tribes”.
“Some of the criminal leaders of Sayawa who were under the cloak of obscurity began to emerge. One of them is Air Commodore Ishaku Komo (rtd) who has the effrontery of declaring himself as the chief of Sayawa – Gung Zaar. He is not alone in this crime, he has his mentors and supporters who would be revealed in the course of investigations”, the association said.
Chairman Shu’aibu Umar explained that the present Bauchi State government arrested the self-appointed Sayawa chief, and he is now facing charges at the court of law. They described the arrest as a welcome development and highly recommendable.
Umar noted that the action of the state government is a clear sign of strong political will to deal with each and every disturber of peace. “No one will have the monopoly of violence under a responsible leadership,” they emphasized.
He however recalled that it was in 2011 that a bill was passed and assented to for the creation of Sayawa Chiefdom with headquarters at Bogoro. And lamented that “Unfortunately, it was the Sayawas who rejected it outrightly, claiming that it must be at Tafawa Balewa”.
“Even though, all documented historical account, evidence and trajectories of ethnic settlements have established that Tafawa Balewa was founded by the Fulani, the Sayawas have no such proofs. It is the Sayawa themselves who are sabotaging the creation of their chiefdom through litigations. The matter is still before the court”.
The Tafawa Balewa association reiterated the determination of Governor Bala-led administration to stamp out all forms of lawlessness and disrespect to constituted authorities from whatever segment of the state they may arise.
According to it, Governor Bala Mohammed’s resolve to deal decisively with those elements that tend to foment anarchy and disrespect for peaceful co-existence of the citizenry without regard to their class, religion or tribe is indeed appreciated by the majority who earnestly yearn for peaceful and steady development.
