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The Bassa Cultural Youth Organization (BCYO) condemn in strong terms the gruesome attacks unleashed on the Bassa community especially Kpanche village in the early hours of Sunday, 22nd April, 2018 which resulted in the killings of innocent, law abiding and peace loving people of Bassa Nation, such a sad and most unfortunate incident.
We are mostly pained by the conduct of these rascals who preliminary and eye witness reports suggests are indeed not just bandits or herders as claimed by some reports but known faces who appear to be playing a script that has been long written by their leaders, we shall vehemently resist such acts of genocide.
As much as it would have been convenient for us not to mention names, we are however guided by the fact that posterity will never forgive us if we fail to assist the government in arriving at a permanent solution on the crisis that has now bedeviled Bassa Land and Bassa Nation.
It would be recalled that sometime in 2014, the Ohiogba of Mozum Alh. Khalid A. Bukar made some nefarious, inflammatory and inciting statements about the Bassa people which culmnated into his unwarranted but “God-revealing” outburst on his verified Facebook account with the name KHALID ALI BUKAR where he claimed that the Egbura Mozum were superior to the Bassa people and further claimed that the Bassa people are nothing. In his words ” who then is the Bassa kwomu? They could not conquer the little one of panda in Toto LGA even when a Bassa kwomu was a chairman in Toto.” The Ohiogba was referring to the Toto violence in 1997 between the Egbura and the Bassa, such comments coming from a traditional ruler with such an overwhelming influence over his subjects was to say the least, dangerously precarious.
As lovers of peace and law abiding citizens, the Bassa elites under the auspices of Coalition of Bassa Elites, understanding the danger such comments portends on the peace and security of Bassa land on 19th of August, and 18th of September 2014 respectively wrote a petition to the Governor of Kogi State and copied all relevant security agencies including the Police and the Director of State Security Kogi State Command, urging them to swiftly address the issue to prevent situations like the current genocide from occurring. Copies of the said petition are hereby attached for ease of reference.
Ever since the Ohiogba made those comments, He has successfully been engaged in activities inimical to peace. From inciting our long standing peaceful and peace loving neighbors, the Igalas against the Bassa Nation, to stage managing of violence amongst his willing subjects to lunch attacks against the Bassa Nation. It must be noted that BCYO has nothing against the Stool of Ohiogba of Mozun safe for the otherwise unpatriotic conduct and utterances of the occupant of that stool which is manifestly inimical to the general peace and security of the land.
Still fresh in our memories is the 2016 attack in the same Kpanche and Zugbe communities orchestrated by some tutored subjects of Ohiogba, it was public knowledge that during the violence of 2016, in an effort by the government to bring lasting peace, a meeting was called by the Local Government Administrator at Gboloko with all the Chiefs in Bassa District including the Chairman Bassa Area Traditional Council, the Aguma of Bassa even in the crisis situation left his domain as directed by the Governor, the Ohiogba did not only fail to attend but directed all his subjects not to attend the meeting that was meant to proffer lasting solution, his failure to attend the meeting may not be farfetched.
At the risk of sounding rather confrontational, BCYO is compelled to bring this to the attention of the government and the world because, we are interested in having a lasting peace; some of us till date have Egburas as best friends and cannot allow unscrupulous elements to sow a seed of discord amongst us.
We therefore call on the government to quickly do the needful and revisit this reoccurring decimal for lasting peace to reign in Bassa Land.
As if in his usual manner, like in the 2016 Kpanche violence, the Ohiogba was the first to address the press, a clandestine move that can only be seen as face saving, brandishing figures and facts that remain in the realm of imagination, we cannot be deceived. Our position is further fortified in the Press Release of Brigadier General Texas Chukwu Director Army Public Relations on preliminary investigation on the crisis.
We urge for further and in depth investigation and not to be cajoled by the antics of those perceived to be active role players in the violence.
The Bassa people are for peace and will continue to preach peace even at the expense of being mistaken for weakness as it has now appeared to be. We believe vengeance is of God who shall recompense evil doers in their own coin.
BCYO wishes to appreciate the gallantry of the Military and Police who were deployed to this flash points and were able to repel the evil doers.
We thank the government who acted swiftly but urge that security personnel in the area to be increased to forestall further attacks.
BCYO urge all peace loving people of Bassa Nation not to be frustrated into abandoning their values and known peaceful disposition even in the midst of all the unprovoked attacks; God will continue to avenge for us.
We empathize with the good people of Bassa Land, Bassa Traditional Council whose member was the subject of the attack in Kpanche and all those who lost their loved ones and suffered losses in whatever category, may God comfort you all and grant lasting peace to Bassa and Bassa Nation.
Our attention has also been drawn to the palpable fear of attack in Toto Local Government Area of Nassarawa State that the same known faces are marshalling out plans to yet again attack the Bassa leaving in those areas, we cannot afford to have a repeat of what happened in Kpanche only yesterday or the sad memories of 1997 to resurface again.
We call on the government of Nassarawa State to swiftly move into action and deploy security to the area without further delay.
We urge all our people to remain resolute and peace abiding. We must remain prayerful, and God will grant us lasting peace.
Long live Bassa Nation!
Long live BCYO.
Thank you all.
– Benjamin Sekpe
Secretary, BCYO
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