Danlami Shuaib, one of the executive committee member of the Zangon Urban Development Association, speaks with SABIU MUHAAMED on the critical issues involved in the lingering crisis in the Southern part of Kaduna State.
Do you think with the White Paper, the crisis in the area will end?
Why the issue is taking this long is because there is no justice. There is no punishment; nobody is being punished. There is no commitment to peace. If there’s commitment to peace, definitely justice will prevail. If you are committed to peace, nobody will be doing what is going on. The recommendations of the various commissions of inquiries, as well as other committees’ reports on the crisis have not been implemented. No White Papers on them. But I believe if there is a White Paper and the culprits are brought to book, it will serve as a deterrent to others. But because nobody is being punished, everybody is doing what he likes. So, as far we are concerned, we are 100 per cent in support of the decision of the Kaduna State government to ensure that it has a white paper on Zango. If approved and the recommendations implemented, it will bring peace to Zango.
Still on the recent killings, the Kataf are blaming the Hausa /Fulani for the recent attacks?
Yes, that is what they have been saying but the truth of the matter is, as far as we are concerned, they have no evidence to show the man they said was killed. Preliminary findings have shown that the man was not even killed at where his corpse was found. So, who killed the man remains the duty of the security agencies to find out. Unfortunately when investigating was going on, they attacked us. They equally attacked Fulani settlement. To be honest with you, nobody will point to the killer of this farmer. If it is the Hausa man that killed the man, then why going to attack the Fulani people.
It may interest you to know that those who carried out the killing were arrested and detained. This was confirmed by a press statement made by the Atyap Community Development Association. We also confirmed it. Who then ordered for their release?. So, let›s go back to the security agencies and let us know why were they released.
Unfortunately, now they are blaming the Fulani for killing their people. But they know that when you attack a Fulani man today, be rest assured he will revenge. This has been the recurring issue in Southern Kaduna not even in Zango. It has been the issue. What problem do we have rather than reprisal? But the people of the area would always like to prove otherwise. They take pride in blaming a particular group. But the question is: how will one group be attacking another group just like that? Please, let people of good conscience and fear of God come investigate.
If you want to curtail the issue, you have to go back to the drawing board and see how it started. If you want to quench a fire, you don›t quench the flame but quench from the roots. And it is not a media war or blame game that will solve the problem. Let there be genuine commitment for peace. We want peace.
What do you want?
We want the government to look into the reports of the various committees and implement those recommendations they feel will end the crisis. On the whole, we want to be free from the influence of the Atyap. We want full autonomy. We want to be independent too. We don›t want to receive order from them. We want our land back. Let us develop our area according to our ability.
Can we have peace back in Zango?
Yes, we can have peace in Zango once we are ready for it; once we are ready and committed to truth; once we are committed to justice; once we are committed to the agreement reached. If that is done, we will have peace. The two sides must be committed towards peace. There is nothing that the Atyap man has said he wants that has not been done for him. They said they wanted self-determination, they were given. They said that they wanted a chiefdom and they were given. They said they wanted their people that were arrested during the crisis released and they were released.
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