Judex Okoro, Calabar
The age long dispute between Wanihem and Wanikade communities in Yala local government area of Cross River state may have ended as they have embraced peace after about twenty -eight months.
The warring communities in North Ukelle Yala II State Constituency, located less than 20 kilometers away from Oju local government in neighboring Benue, have been engaged in land tussle, culminating into full scale war on June 28, 2017.
The war led to the killings and destruction of over one hundred houses and property worth millions of naira and rendering over three thousand people homeless in five villages just as a primary school in Wanikade was brought down.
While the crisis persisted, many residents abandoned their houses and took refuge in nearby communities. Several meetings were held in Ukelle, Ogoja and Calabar to resolve the lingering crisis without yielding any positive results. But there now seems to be respite as both communities have resolved never to fight again.
A peace meeting, held at Saint Paul’s Primary School Ijiraga, South Ukelle, was at the instance of the state government through its security department. Decrying the level of destruction in a dispute between people who have lived together for decades, Permanent Secretary Special Services, Governor’s Office, Dr. Alfred Mboto, who represented Governor Ben Ayade, enjoined the communities to embrace peace rather than fight over a piece of land that they met and would die and leave behind.
He said it is unfortunate that rather than come together to attract development to their area, they have chosen to destroy even the little they have, emphasising that government will no longer tolerate such ugly incidents.
Also speaking, the State Security Adviser Northern senatorial district, Leo Iyambe, said the communities have gotten to the where they should have got over their differences and moved on, promising that such incidents will never re-occur.
Expressing concern, State Security Adviser Central, Ransom Odey, reminded the people that court judgments and government policies alone cannot give anybody peace. He said peace is an internal process which the people must agree to give themselves.
The representatives of both communities, Samuel Lukpata for Wanihem and Ubiet OKom Stephen Ogede for Wanikade, both testified that land ownership was at the centre of the dispute but that with the resolution made from the meeting they have agreed to embrace peace.
The community leaders regretted the bloodshed so far and urged both communities to respect each other’s traditional institutions, suggested total cleansing of the two communities.
Both communities resolved that the land in dispute should become the joint community land and anyone seeking a piece for any activity should duly apply to the community and that all roads and markets closed should be immediately re-opened.
In continuation of the peace talks, a 23-man committee was set up including 10 members each from the two communities, with the departmental security officer Yala Local Government Council, Odu Jerry, Yala CSP Abugo M and DSS Yala, Johnson Egbo , as members.