NSCIA opposes Bauchi Gov’s plan to site Sayawa Chiefdom HQ in Tafawa Balewa LG

The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) on Thursday rejected the proposed plan by Bauchi State governor, Senator Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed, to site the headquarters of Sayawa Chiefdom in Tafawa Balewa, the headquarters of Tafawa Balewa Local Government Area of the state.

The plan, according to the country’s apex Islamic body, was a recipe for ethno-religious conflicts, adding that it was neither in the interest of peace nor in consonance with the principles of justice and moral rectitude.

A press release signed by the Council’s Secretary-General, Professor Is-haq Oloyede, and made available to Tribune Online in Abuja today stated that the NSCIA had been following matters and issues concerning Tafawa Balewa since 1991, when the first ethno-religious disturbance occurred there.

It noted that following intermittent clashes and conflicts in the town and its environs, Muslims have been completely displaced from the town for about 14 years now, adding that efforts of previous and incumbent Bauchi State governors only yielded relative peace, “though it is, in a way, peace of the graveyard.”

According to Oloyede, “The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), under the leadership of His Eminence, the Sultan of Sokoto, has been following matters and issues concerning Tafawa Balewa since 1991, when the first ethno-religious disturbance occurred.

“Since then, there have been intermittent clashes and conflicts in the town and its environs. Previous and incumbent governors in the state have made efforts at restoring peace and ensuring harmonious coexistence.

“These efforts have been responsible for the relative peace that has been enjoyed in the area, though it is in a way, peace of the graveyard since Muslims have been completely displaced from the town for about 14 years now.”

He stated that NSCIA had it on authority that one matter that had remained intractable in the Tafawa Balewa crises is the issue of the Sayawa Chiefdom, adding that the bone of contention has been the issue of the siting of the headquarters of the Chiefdom.

The Supreme Council scribe further stated that despite the fact that both the Bauchi Emirate Council and the Muslim community in Tafawa Balewa had conceded to the creation of Sayawa Chiefdom, they were, however, against sitting the Chiefdom’s headquarters in Tafawa Balewa.

“It is pertinent to state here that the Bauchi Emirate Council and the Muslim Community of Tafawa Balewa have both conceded to the creation of the chiefdom in the interest of peace. Both have also unequivocally rejected the siting of its headquarters in Tafawa Balewa.

“All committees appointed by successive regimes in the state consistently recommended the siting of the Chiefdom in Bogoro.

“The administration of His Excellency, Governor Isa Yuguda, even went to the extent of sending a bill to the State House of Assembly in 2014 on the Chiefdom, clearly stating Bogoro as the headquarters of the Chiefdom.

“The matter could have been concluded but for the objection of the Sayawa people, who would not accept the chiefdom as long as Tafawa Balewa is not its headquarters.

“Strikingly also, even the committee appointed by His Excellency, Governor Bala AbdulKadir Muhammad, under the chairmanship of His Excellency, Ambassador Chinade, did not recommend the siting of the Chiefdom in Tafawa Balewa,” Oloyede stated.

According to him, it was instructive to state that there were several reasons, including historic, moral, political, and demographic, that prevented all the committees from recommending the siting of the Sayawa Chiefdom headquarters at Tafawa Balewa.

“Historically, the town was founded and named by the Fulanis and had existed for more than four centuries before the first Sayawa man settled in the town in the 1960s.

“Morally, after perpetrating a series of aggressions against Muslims and killing hundreds of them in the town, nobody in his right conscience would think of offering it to them as the headquarters of their chiefdom.

“Demographically and politically, the Sayawa people for whom the Chiefdom would be purportedly created are more predominant in Bogoro LGA than in Tafawa Balewa LGA, where they have only two wards out of sixteen, and Tafawa Balewa is located within a village area that is religiously and ethnically heterogeneous,” the NSCIA Secretary explained.

He further stated that the Council, like many other peace-loving individuals and groups, had advised Governor Mohammed against this plan.

He asserted that the planned siting of the Sayawa Chiefdom in Tafawa Balewa by the governor was neither in the interest of peace nor in consonance with the principles of justice and moral rectitude.

“For all the reasons stated above, it is very clear that the planned siting of the headquarters of the Sayawa Chiefdom in Tafawa Balewa by the governor is not in the interest of peace, nor is it in consonance with the principles of justice and moral rectitude.

“It is on this note that we hereby call on the governor to change his plan and explore options that are more attuned to justice and equity, as well as enduring peaceful and harmonious coexistence in the area.

“Finally, the Council unequivocally rejects the plan of the governor to site the headquarters of the Sayawa Chiefdom in Tafawa Balewa because it is a recipe for ethno-religious conflicts,” the NSCIA Secretary-General stated.

   READ MORE FROM: NIGERIAN TRIBUNE