Toto: Ebgura welcomes Al-Makura’s meeting with Bassa stakeholders

By Musa Adamu Abuja

Egbura ethnic group has welcomed the meeting between Governor Umaru Tanko Al-Makura of Nasarawa state and stakeholders of Bassa ethnic group last week in Abuja.
Speaking through its umbrella socio-cultural group, Egbura National Development Association (ENDA) via a statement in Abuja by its President, Prof. Ibrahim Aguye, the community further commended the Governor for the message of hope for peace he reportedly carried to the meeting with Bassas.
It said while it had never opposed the quest for Chiefdom for Bassas, it however, called on the Governor to involve geniune stakeholders from both sides to ensure the right thing was done so as to engender a lasting solution.
It said: “Since creation of Chiefdom all over the world are rooted in history and tradition, the Governor, in his quest to bring a lasting solution to the seemingly intractable situation, is hereby called to be guided by the history and tradition of the land.
“This can only be achieved when the Governor involves geniune stakeholders from both sides in the process leading to such weighty decision. It is in this light that we further welcomed the idea of a tripartite meeting proposed by His Excellency.
“It is also noteworthy to point out at this juncture that Chiefdoms are never really created or formulated but only get recognised and upgraded based on ancestral heritage. Suffice it to say that any artificial creation will only be a contraption that may be difficult to stand.”
It therefore, called on government to ensure that genuine stakeholders with verifiable claims to state indegenship were invited to the proposed meeting, explaining that most of those who spoke for Bassa ethnic group at the meeting were not bona fide indegenes of the state, hence, may not have been able to speek from informed position.
The group further noted that for a lasting solution, there was need for the government to get to the root of the crisis, especially the recent one, with a view to putting “the blame where it belongs.
The group further pointed out that it was imperative for the government to impress it on Bassas that they cannot gain “anything by attacking their neighbours.”
It further called on “The immediate prosecution of the arrested masterminds and their sponsors.”
It called for the genuine resolution of issues to bring about lasting peace.
Meanwhile, ENDA has reported the latest attack on Umaisha, the headquarters of Opanda Kingdom on July 6, 2018, by Bassa militia men, just at the time of Friday prayers by Muslim faithful.
The group said the latest attack came three days after a group of Igbo traders traveling between Ugya and Umaisha were also attacked by people suspected to be Bassa militias.
To this end, it called on the security in the area to redouble its efforts “at combing the length and breadth of the area to forestall cases of innocent victims since the traducers have now resorted to guerrilla style attacks.”