By Ali Abare Abubakar
Members of some affected communities recently visited by the communal crisis that engulfed some part of Nasarawa State have hailed a state lawmaker, Mohammed Aga Muluku (PDP, Nasarawa Eggon East) for initiating a peace process between resident Fulanis and Eggon farmers.
Muluku whose reconciliatory mission cut across villages in Lafia North, Lafia East Development Areas and Nasarawa-Eggon local government area said the move became necessary given the untold hardship visited residents of affected communities who are mostly peasant farmers who have lived for decades in peace with their neighbors.
Addressing the crowd that turned out to witness the final peace and reconciliation ceremony which took place at the Local Government Education Authority (LGEA) primary school, Arugbadu, in Lafia East Development Area, the lawmaker stressed the need for all warring parties to sheath their swords and give peace a chance.
The lawmaker admonished that insistence on revenge only leads to conflagration of the violence which serves no one any good even as he charged community leaders to prevail on their subjects to let peace prevail in the state.
“After a tour of the affected villages my heart bleeds at the level of destruction I have seen both in human lives and property. We cannot continue to live like this and must therefore resolve to return to the status quo when we were our brother’s keepers”, Muluku said.
He cautioned that overdependence on government to proffer solution may not augur well for the immediate return of peace rather the onus lies on those who are at the receiving end of the crisis to tow the path of peace.
The village heads of Arugbadu, Umme, Bakyonu, Agbalagu, Fadama, Arugbadun Gida and the representative of the Arikya paramount ruler, who took turns to make their submissions, called on Eggon, Hausa and Fulani communities to give peace a chance.
In a significant gesture to mark their resolution to embrace peace, the Eggon community presented kola nuts to the Fulanis which was broken and shared to all present.
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