Th ere has been a groundswell of anxiety and feeling of disappointment recently among some ethnic groups in Mambilla, with the exception of the Fulani community, over the recent suspension for a period of three months of John Yep, chairman of Sardauna Local Government Area of Taraba State and his replacement by Rev Godwill Sol. Th e social media has been awash with the expression of all kinds of sentiments against the action, some suggesting that the action was a declaration of government’s support for the Fulani side of the Mambilla crisis that occurred in June.
On the Fulani side also, the suspension is being celebrated as victory and a vindication of its position on the crisis. Th ese reactions on both sides of the dispute are, in my own opinion, presumptuous, premature and a misreading of the intensions of those who took these decisions. I believe that there is no real basis for these assumptions on both sides of the divide. But fi rst, let me say that I do not have the mandate of the Taraba State Government to defend it on this issue. I’m doing so out of a deep personal concern for peace in Taraba State and Mambilla, in particular – this land of immense treasure which has been in the news for some time now mostly for the wrong and unfortunate reason – communal clashes.
Th is write-up is, therefore, a personal and independent eff ort by a patriotic advocate of peace to explain the wisdom in the action taken against the former chairman and how it will help the peace process being pursued by the Taraba State Government and other stakeholders in Mambilla and in the entire state. First, it is necessary to clarify that the suspension of the former chairman was not directly the decision of the Taraba State Government. Rather, it was that of the Legislative Council of the Sardauna Local Government. As an elected chairman, only the council has the powers to impeach or suspend him. Th e council’s action was right on legal grounds but the reactions to it and the implication of those reactions for the grand peace process being pursued by the Taraba State Government in the area require clarifi cation. Those who have followed events on the Mambilla Plateau very closely since the crisis happened on June 17, this year, will recall that John Yep has been a recurring name in the story of the crisis, especially as often told by the Herdsmen side. Some of them accused him of encouraging the fi ghting. Th ere was even the ridiculous suggestion that he went from doorto-door urging people to go out and fi ght. Of course, we all know that all of that are part of the propaganda by the Fulani side to discredit and make him un-electable in the future politics of the Council Area. It is also well known that the suspended chairman was the fi rst victim of the attack by the Fulani during the crisis. But the allegation against him, for whatever it is worth, is an expression of loss of confi dence in him by one side to the crisis and I believe it is proper that he is asked to step aside while it is being investigated. But the fact that his suspension came with a prescribed duration of three months leaves the window of hope for his supporters to expect that he will eventually return to his seat. Th e action, therefore, does not amount to political overkill for Yen or a display of insensitivity to feelings on the Mambilla side of the crisis as widely speculated. It is normal in the culture of administration that we are now familiar with to ask any offi cial whose role in a matter is under investigation to be asked to stand aside while such is being done. Th at is what happened in this case and that, I believe, suffi ciently explains the action of the Legislative Council of the Local Government there. It is important for me to add, for emphasis, that it was not done by the Taraba State Government or by Governor Darius Dickson Ishaku. But that decision left a vacuum which Governor Ishaku was statutorily required to fi ll. And he did so promptly with the appointment and swearing in of Rev Sol. Th e circumstances leading to this appointment were also explained by Ishaku himself at the swearing in ceremony of the acting chairman in Jalingo on July 28, 2017. He had said that Sol was a product of the unfortunate circumstance in Mambilla and that he would be in offi ce for three months “pending the resolution of the issues that led to Yen’s suspension.” He was also quick to add that the issues that led to the crisis were being investigated and that his administration was determined to get to the root of it all. Th ese words, I believe, were suffi cient assurances of the government’s neutrality on the Mambilla issue. It is, therefore, wrong and premature for conclusions to be drawn on both sides of the divide, for one side to mourn its loss and the other to roll out the drums in celebration of victory. In fact, government’s position which Ishaku has repeatedly emphasised is that there is no victor, no vanquished as far as the Mambilla crisis is concerned. His preoccupation, and I have always heard him repeat this, is to reunite all the ethnic groups so they can live together peacefully as they did in the not too distant past. Th is commitment is the reason the governor has had sleepless nights lately. He has appointed two committees and sworn them in immediately to handle various aspects of the implementation of the new law on ranching in the state. Th e committees will help government chart a new way forward on the new policy on grazing which the new law seeks to promote. One of the committees will handle sensitisation on the law for the farmers while the other will do same for the herdsmen. Th ey are to educate the people on both sides of the immense benefi ts of the law in order to win their confi dence and support for it. Th e two committees, according to Ishaku, will later get together to, compare notes for a successful, hitch-free implementation of the law. The steps being taken by government to restore peace and order permanently to the Mambilla Plateau and the entire Taraba State are far-reaching. Th ey are the most profound steps ever taken by any government in the state to prevent crisis and ensure peace on a sustainable basis. Th ey deserve the backing of all the critical stakeholders. Th e elites in the state, in particular, must come out this time round and be seen as active partners in the eff ort government is making to sustain peace in the state. Th ey have been part of the problem in the past. Th ey have not been sincere in the discharge of their roles as bridge between the government and the people. Some of them are even guilty of openly fanning embers of crisis in their communities by giving wrong interpretations todecisions and actions of government. Nguta writes from Jalingo
