Communal Crisis in Abi LGA Mock’s God Creation —By Peter Bassey

Peter Bassey|2 May 2016|6:25am

Abi is one of the 18 local government areas in Cross River State, that is richly bless in all sense of judgement. Since the fourth Nigeria republic founding in 1999, communal crisis in the area has claim a lot of lives, properties and displaced even many more. This ugly act followed a trend in the increased village-  village conflict, due to a breakdown in traditional conflict resolution mechanisms of protracted claims and counter claims over the ownership of land.

Funny enough this has led to proliferation of small arms and crime in the area, insecurity and violence have led many communities into creating self-defence force and militias, which have even engaged in further violence. The majority of this violence can be described as intra-communal (Ebijakara vs Ebom; Usomutong vs Ediba) while some inter-communal (Adadama in Abi LGA CRS vs Amagu in Ikwo LGA Ebonyi State) hence resulting to many hostilities.

These consistent crises is a mockery to God's creation. God was not foolish when, after creation, He ordained man/woman to go into the world and multiply. According to the book of the Bible, Genesis, man/woman was commissioned to help God in procreation. So anything contrary to that is an abuse to that commission. What a vanity (land) will cause one to raise a matchet or pull a trigger against  another?

My heart bleeds for innocent souls that have been killed so far in these clashes. If, in this 21st century, such act still persist in Abi LGA, it is sad and does not speak good of us. The most annoying part of war is that sometimes old men who claim to know history drum up war for young men to die in. We can't continue to live with our fore fathers' mentality. Their mates built houses outside the shores of this country, some even estates in big cities of this country for their children to inherit when they are gone. Here we are, maiming and killing ourselves for a land that does not have any mineral in it. A land that won't even be enough to  build an estate. Young people should rise up and set the pace for peaceful coexistence by saying no to all forms of violence. We cannot allow the principles of some old men, some even died years ago, to rule us from their graves. They have lived their lives. War itself is immoral.

I wish to join voices with all meaningful citizens of Abi who crave for peace. To appeal to all waring communities for cessation to hostilities, this passionate appeal is not because your community is too exhausted to fight, but because war is bad in essence. No human society develops by violence. Everyone should embrace peace to give way to progress and development, learn to forgive one another and to coexist and accommodate each other. Maturity is the ability to let go for peace to reign.

They have never been a good war nor a bad peace. History has it that even those who claim to have won in wars, also count their loses.

Dwright D. Eisenhower was right when he said "War settled Nothing".

Peter Bassey
Writes from Calabar