Inyima Vs Oyadama crisis: CRSHA passes 3 resolutions to ensure lasting peace

The 8th Cross River State House of Assembly has waded into the communal crisis ongoing between Inyima in Yakurr LGA and Oyadama in Obubra in LGA which began last month NegroidHaven can say. After a long deliberation, it adopted three resolutions in this regard. 

The debate which came under a motion of urgent public interest was brought to the floor of the 8th Assembly by Rt. Hon. Eteng Jones Williams the member representing Yakurr II in the State House of Assembly. Williams who narrated that the recent incident started on the 6th of April at 4AM condemned the crisis in very strong words while calling on State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) to distribute relief materials particularly food to the people.  

Numerous members of the 8th Assembly lend their voice in condemning the land dispute outbreak while proffering possible solutions. On his part, Hon Friday Gabriel, the member representing Obubra I in the 8th Assembly said that, the state government taking over the land under contention as some Honourable members in the floor of the Assembly has suggested won't solve the problem. Rather, Gabriel stressed that the state governor should convoke a round table discussion with stakeholders in both communities to proffer lasting solution(s). 'Claiming ownership of that land will not help us, I am not just calling on the government but particularly on the governor to wade into the matter'. Hon. Ekpo Ekpo Bassey representing Bakassi State Constituency argued that there should be some synergy between the Cross River State House of Assembly and the National Assembly. For Bassey, members of the National Assembly from the affected areas were better funded and placed to address the problem. For him, 'if they fail to come into this matter and the challenge lingers, with the people killing themselves, who will vote for them during general elections'. Hon. Peter Odey representing Ogoja State Constituency said that the state government should be more practical, for him, 'let's leave grammar and go down to the business of resolving the issue once and for all'. Hon Ogbor Odop representing Biase State Constituency who also doubles as the Chairman of the House on Security charged the Assembly to move from urgent motion to 'urgent action'. Nelson Offem of Yakurr I observed that the Assembly seem not to have really engaged the Executive arm of the state government. He noted that, 'We don't seem to be tasking the Executive as we should. We should set up a Commission of Inquiry with a judge as the head, the Commissioner for Lands, Surveyor General and every other relevant stakeholder'. It was Hon. Matthew Olori representing Akamkpa I who proposed that the Assembly should consider inviting every stakeholder from the two LGAs to the CRSHA including public officers, traditional rulers, youth and women leaders, etc. 

Accordingly, the Assembly arrived at three recommendations which were finally adopted as resolutions of the House. They are : 

1. The Assembly should embark on, on the spot assessment visit to both communities 

2. Setting up of a Commission of Inquiry to look into the remote and possible cause of as well as proffer solutions to the communal crisis 

3. All elected officers, appointees of the government from the areas, the Nigerian Police, State Security Adviser, Divisional Police Officer, traditional rulers, etc should appear before the Assembly to give explanations on the recurrence of the crisis. 

The Bill seeking for the Prohibition of Open Grazing of Livestock and provision of Grazing reserves passed through the second reading. Hon. Regina Anyogo representing Yala in the House of Assembly and the sponsor of the said bill said that the significance of the bill subsist on the fact that it seeks to ensure the safety and security of lives and property while preventing clashes between herdsmen and crop farmers. The Bill passed to the Committee stage.

Speaking in an interview shortly after seating, the Speaker of the 8th Assembly Rt. Hon. John Gaul Lebo observed that the history of the state shows restricted grazing system. He said there is no law in the state encouraging open grazing system. According to him, 'We are not banning open grazing because it doesn't exist, we are only encouraging what exists which is ranch farm and restricted family holding. The law we are providing for is moving for administration of livestock…

'Now, what we don't want to encourage is a system where anybody will come because of our green vegetation, just move his cattle into any area and then eat up people's crops. So, we want to provide what is already in existence with a law'.