Sen. John Owan Enoh
OBAJI AKPET|23 November 2016
Senator John Owan Enoh, member representing Cross River Central Senatorial District at the Upper Legislative Chamber, National Assembly is angry with his constituency over recurrent communal clashes from one community to the other despite several failed bids by him to bring lasting peace among communities in his constituency.
Communities in Enoh's constituency spanning from four local government areas out of six making the delineation for his constituency have been engaged in recurrent age long bloody disputes over parcels of lands leading to the killing of many and lost of properties.
To bring lasting peace to these communities, the senator had on several occasion embarked on an all round tour of his constituency to engage community leaders to preaching peace.
Just while he and other bodies concerned about bringing peace in these constituents feel all is settled renewed bloody skirmishes brewed between the neighbouring communities of Ediba and Usumutong both in Abi LGA all of the same central senatorial district.
In that incident which set two communities into full scale war about seven persons were killed and property worth hundreds of thousands of Naira destroyed. The warring communities have been engaged in an age-long dispute over a parcel of farm land. To this end Enoh who doubles as Senate Committee chairman on Finance took to media space, in a statement made available to media to condemn the wars and passionately appealed to warring communities in his constituents to stop the carnage and embrace dialogue in resolving land disputes.
In Enoh's words, “It is with pain in my heart that I learnt of another round of blood-letting between the people of Ediba and Usumutong communities both of Abi LGA of the central senatorial district, Cross River State."
"This carnage and wide spread destruction which I was informed claimed the precious lives of our people coming at this point when our peace making effort had seemingly begun to work is an unfortunate setback."
Enoh said it pained him more bitterly for two brothers to continue to shed blood and destroy property in the name of fighting for land. Adding that he believes in the sanctity of human life and the right of our people to peaceful coexistence remains unshakable, and therefore condemned in totality the latest round of killings in whatever form.
According to him, “I unreservedly condemn this latest round of hostilities and urgently call on the warring communities to sheath their swords, embrace the course of peace, and refrain from all actions capable of leading to the further breakdown of law and order.
“Our people are diminished each time we call on the base instincts in us. It is therefore with a sense of urgency that I call on all the warring communities to toe the path of peace and explore all remedies within the confines of the law in pursuit and defence of their rights.
“I, therefore, use this opportunity to once again call on both the security agencies to secure the affected areas as well as the concerned royal fathers to use their exalted positions to promote peace at all times in their domains,” he stated.
Obaji Akpet
Writes from Calabar
