By Ngwuoke Ngwuoke
Relative peace is returning to the erstwhile warring communities of Ndukwe in Amasiri, Afikpo North Local Government Area and Okporojo, Oso in Afikpo South Local Government Area both in Ebonyi State following the intervention of Ebonyi State Government.
Wednesday, February 8, 2023 was a red letter day for the two communities as fierce fighting erupted between their youths over land ownership.
The fighting claimed at least two deaths while houses, farmlands and agricultural products on both sides worth millions of naira were destroyed.
Ebonyi State Government waded into the matter Saturday with Governor David Umahi addressing selected leaders of both local governments in his country home, Uburu, in nearby Ohaozara Local Government Area, where he had invited them to a meeting.
At the end of the meeting, the Special Assistant to the Governor on Media and Strategy, Chooks Oko, issued a statement indicating that the governor emphasized the importance of peace above all other human pursuits.
“You have been living as brothers and enjoying the closeness of each other. Why would you allow land to be the source of this level of quarrel? Land is important, we know, but a wealthy person can buy enough land to contain a community if the money is there. Why make it an issue to the point of wasting human life and killing innocent people who might not even know why they were killed? These will certainly bring curses to both the land and the perpetrators.”
Umahi noted that the mistake people make about war is thinking that it is local.
” You both have prominent sons and daughters living across the world. If war is encouraged, it could degenerate to individual and isolated killings of those your children who do not even know what you are fighting for.”
Speaking on behalf of the Amasiri team, Ezeogo Idam Bassey Onya, the Ubaghala III of Amasiri, stressed the fact that Amasiri lineages have relatives in Edda and vice versa meaning that the two sides are brothers and sisters.
“There is no family in Amasiri that does not have relatives in Edda showing that we are all interrelated. We have always lived in peace and will not allow anything to shake it”
Speaking for the Edda leaders, Dr. Mike Okoro (Vote for Jesus) noted that relationship between Amasiri and Edda predates creation and has always been brotherly.
” We can not allow anything to spoil it now. We have decided to keep living in peace and ensure that nothing shakes us” he noted.
In a bid to strengthen these resolves which arose from a meeting of the two sides without the governor, a twelve man committee was set up to go to the land in dispute, study the issues and advise the government on the way to everlasting peace in the area.
Ezeogo Idam Onya and Dr. Mike Okoro are co- chairmen of the Committee.
Ten other members, five from both sides were nominated into the committee which the governor promised would get the blessing of the State Executive Council as a government committee. The committee has seven days to turn in its report.
The ten members include Joseph Uche Akpu, Bishop Ken Oko Daniel, Uche Onyia, Omezue Oko Oyari, Ndukwe Obiahu, representing Amasiri, while representatives of Edda are Eze Ama Okoro, Gibson Nnachi Eche, Sunday Kalu, Dickson Udu and Patrick Anya (Oso).
The governor assured the committee of immediate and adequate funding but warned that on no account should any security agent be attacked or molested as theirs is a selfless service to ensure peace.
While commending the efforts of Chairmen of both local governments, the governor tasked them to immediately, within forty eight hours, convoke a peace-making ceremony to consolidate on the peace accord so far reached.
Ten representatives from both Ndukwe and Oso later signed an undertaking of peaceful coexistence.
