20022021 - INSECURITY Give us state police now - Govs

SATURDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 20, 2021—15
•Makinde
Shasha market mayhem:
They’ve killed me;
victim cries out
•I lost t my y brother
other, , my y two houses, goods worth N60m
•As other victims count their losses
By Adeola Badru
With over four hundred (400) ethnic
groups and several religious sects,
Nigeria has been grappling with
problems arising from ethnicity
and religious intolerance since independence.
These, many times degenerated into conflicts
and serious crisis leading to loss of lives and
property.
The clash between the Yoruba and the
Hausa in Shasha area of Ibadan, in Akinyele
Local Government Area of Oyo State, last
week was triggered by an exchange of words
between a Yoruba pregnant woman and an
Hausa tomato seller and the eventual murder
of a cobbler, popularly known as “Adex”. There
was however no evidence that the fight was
caused by ethnic differences. The victim who
was stabbed was confirmed dead in a hospital
on Friday morning, leading to crisis between
the Hausa community and their Yoruba
hosts. Within hours, the conflict spread beyond
the market
According to eyewitnesses, scores of people
died on both sides during the crisis. Several
shops and houses were also burnt down while
the market was deserted.
Victims count
their losses
One of the victims of the mayhem, Garuba
Adamu, said: “I am the most unfortunate man
in the incident. I lost my brother to the crisis.
My brother left behind a wife and four
children. He was killed. I lost more than N60
million because I had many trucks bringing
perishable goods from the North to the South.
My two houses in Shasha were burnt down. I
have a store where I loaded 420 bags of rice,
beans, corn, and other valuables. They were
destroyed. They have killed me alive. I just
returned from the hospital now.”
Another victim, Muibat Osuolale, a Yoruba
trader said: “we were in our shops when we
saw some Hausa men running. We asked to
know what the issue was. But they said they
were looking for someone. I said I was not the
person, but one of them raised a dagger and
wanted to stab me. I was scared. My children
were with me; I started screaming. My shop is
directly beside my husband’s house. My
husband is crippled. They started throwing
stones. They threatened to kill us if we refused
to vacate our shop and home. We ran out and
they burnt down both our home and shops.”
One other victim who lost over N30 million
in the crisis also recounted that his house was
burnt and looted in the process. He said, “I
housed these Hausa traders unfortunately my
house was the first to be burnt on that day. I
am not a trader. I was not involved in any
violence. I am a spare parts dealer. I had a
large sum of money that was burnt with my
house. I was expected to travel to Lagos to
purchase some motor parts. I lost over N30
million.”
Governors
sympathize
This unfortunate incident, attracted the
attention of many people across the country.
Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State
was first to visit Ibadan, to sympathise with
his Oyo State counterpart, Governor Seyi
Makinde, as they went to the market for an
on-the-spot assessment of the level of
destruction that took place during the clash.
A delegation of the Nigerian Governors’
Forum (NGF) also visited to show solidarity
with the Oyo state government and took
various to douse tension.
In his resolve to check escalation of the crisis
as the Chief Security Officer of the state,
Governor Seyi Makinde declared a curfew
and closed down the market until normalcy
would return to the community. In
demonstration of the continued peaceful
coexistence among the ethnic tribes, Governor
Seyi Makinde received Governor Abdullahi
Ganduje of Kano State,
Governor Abubakar Bello of
Niger state and Governor
Bello Matawalle of Zamfara
State. The visit of the four
Northern governors to
Ibadan, was at the instance
of the Nigerian Governors’
Forum.
Before then, Governor
Makinde, had in a statewide
broadcast on Monday,
disclosed that a judicial
panel would be inaugurated
to investigate the crisis and
stressed that anybody found
culpable would be
sanctioned.
While speaking after
visiting the scenes of the
destruction, Governor
Abubakar Bagudu of Kebbi
State, who spoke on behalf
of the other governors, said
the conflict at Shasha
Market in Ibadan was not a tribal or ethnic
one but “the handiwork of miscreants who set
out to loot, steal and cause mayhem.”
He also described the crisis as a regrettable
spontaneous incident.
Gov Bagudu admonished youths and social
media warriors and influencers to desist from
painting the conflict as tribally-motivated and
to also stop fanning of the embers of discord
that could destabilise the country. He noted that
normalcy had returned to the Shasha
community as the leaders there were working
together to put the incident behind them.
The Kebbi governor said: “the streets of Ibadan
are calm; there is no one chasing another and
people are supporting one another to ensure
normalcy.” He noted that such skirmishes were
bound to happen in communities, but that
“sometimes they are exploited by miscreants to
I lost my brother to the
crisis. My brother left
behind a wife and four
children. He was killed. I
lost more than N60 million
because I had many trucks
bringing perishable goods
from the North to the South
loot, steal and to cause mayhem. At Shasha
Market, we saw the destruction, but more than
the destruction was the regrettable loss of lives
that was caused by an unfortunate and
condemnable spontaneous response to
emotions. Everyone in the community
recognised that two issues led to the crisis.
“First, there had been contention over the
leadership at Shasha Market. Both the Seriki
and Baale of Shasha are in agreement over the
leadership but other interested groups were not,
hence, there was an undercurrent for trouble to
brew.”
Cause of
mayhem
“What was the trigger? There was somebody
pushing a wheelbarrow with tomatoes and
the items fell in front of a shop. Ordinarily,
that is normal in markets. But when emotions
rose and social media posts instigating crisis
became strident, we had the situation we had.”
“We sympathise with those who lost their
lives and property. Also, we appreciate what
Gov Makinde, community leaders, security
agents, youth groups, have done so far. We are
also glad that the Seriki and Baale of Shasha
are firm that everyone is free to stay and
conduct his or her lawful activities.”
Bagudu said Governor Makinde had
assured that he would continue to engage the
people to ensure that all
communities lived without
fear.
“As we speak, it is certain
that some people are hiding
and experiencing fear about
what will happen. So it
behoves us to ensure that we
communicate properly. This
will make those living in fear
to know that the NGF,
President Mohammadu
Buhari and security agencies
are working hard to ensure
that we treat things for what
they are,” Bagudu said.
He also expressed
satisfaction that the Oyo State
governor was rendering
assistance, assuring that NGF
would support him.
“In fact, we have given a
token to support those who
are already displaced. We will
meet at a wider forum on
Wednesday and I’m sure more support will be
mobilised,” he said.
The Seriki Shasha of Ibadanland, Alhaji
Haruna Maiyasin, who regretted the
unfortunate incident however, lauded
Governor Makinde for his peaceful
relationship with the Hausa community since
the inception of his administration.
Speaking at the Seriki Shasha’s Palace,
Governor Makinde sued for peace and
promised that his government would find
means to restore peace to the community.
The governor said: “As a government you
trust and elected us into office, please trust
our judgement to watch out for you and ensure
that we coexist peacefully. There is nothing
we can do in an atmosphere of unrest and
disharmony. When you have agreed that there
won’t be any more bloodshed here, you will
come to me and then I will reopen the market.
I beg you. We won’t lose any more victims”.
In furtherance to ensuring a lasting peace
and to provide succour for the victims of the
mayhem, Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of
Kano State kick-started the process by
donating a total of N18.5million to 185
indigenes of the state affected in the clash and
Kano State Commissioner of Information,
Malam Garba Mohammed who led the
government delegation, handed over a cash
of N100,000 to the select victims.
Consequent upon this, the Federal
Government promised to give humanitarian
assistance to the affected persons through the
National Emergency Management Agency.
The assurance was given by the Director
General of the agency, Air Vice Marshal
Muhammadu Muhammed (retd) after an
assessment of the market to ascertain the level
of damage. He said the agency had worked
on an interim report submitted by sister agency
for the humanitarian support, while urging
the affected traders to cooperate with a team
of the agency for necessary measures.
He said: “The NEMA is working with other
stakeholders. They have submitted an interim
report which we have worked on and
processed. We are aware that this unfortunate
incident has led to displacement of citizens at
different locations in Sabo, Shasha, Oojo,
Akinyele. Humanitarian assistance is being
processed for them and very soon, it will be
ready.”
In line with the President’s directive, the DG
NEMA Air Vice Marshal Muhammed (retd)
said government has constituted a team of
officers of the agency working in collaboration
with state emergency management agency
and other relevant agencies to visit Shasha,
the scene of the incident and conduct an
indepth assessment of what happened.
In their respective remarks for peace to reign,
both Baale Shasha, Akinade-Ajani and Seriki
Shasha, Maiyasin restated their commitment
to peaceful coexistence.
They rose in unison to make case for a quick
rebuilding, reopening of the market as well as
provision of palliatives to the affected traders.
Akinade-Ajani said: “We do not discriminate
against any tribe; we believe we are of the
same family. We want peaceful coexistence of
all tribes here. We want a return to how we
have been coexisting in Shasha. It is
unbelievable to hear that some people are
moving to settle in another place within the
same Akinyele Local Government.
“We can’t approve of them selling in another
place and then coming here to sleep at night.
Government should arrest and deal with
anyone causing crisis. We are no more fighting.
We want to live in peace; we are not fighting
with Hausa, Igbo. We know those causing
trouble; help us take them away from Akinyele
Local Government. We don’t want people that
beat drums of war. We welcome anyone who
wants to trade at Shasha market peacefully.
We welcome anyone that will live here in
peace.”
On his part, Maiyasin said: “We are brothers
and sisters and we must all live in unity. This is
one Nigeria irrespective of different
backgrounds. Yoruba people are also living
in our communities without any fear. We are
accommodating people and love should be
our only language.”