(PART IV)
AN EARNEST LETTER TO THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE OF THE GONGOLA AREA (ADAMAWA STATE) FROM A SON OF THE PLATEAU.


This letter is directed to the Indigenous people of Gongola (Adamawa) state. To my brothers and sisters whose ancestors have lived and thrived for thousands of years within the region from the South of the Mandara mountains at Sukur (Madagali) all the way down to the boundaries of the Gashaka-Gumti forests (at Toungo), up to the confluence of the River Gongola/ River Benue (at Numan) to the mountainous areas south of the River Hawul (Gombi/ Hong).

These are the Bachama/Batta, Chamba, Kilba, Kamwe (Michika), Marghi, Lunguda, Dera (Kanakuru), Yandang, Yungurr, Ga'anda, Gude, Fali, Mbula, Bura, Verre, Sukur, Nzanyi and dozens of other Indigenous ethnic groups with similar cultures, languages, ancestry, traditions and orientation.

It is important that I specify what I mean by the Indigenous people of the Gongola area because many Nigerians including many of you my brethren from the Gongola area are not even sure what defines the Indigenous people of your homeland.

Today, there are thousands of people who go about parading themselves as Indigenes of Gongola (Adamawa state), and these are people whose ancestors have not been in the region for more than 150 years.
Some of them came shortly before the colonial era (around 1850) in the name of a religious jihad under the leadership of Modibbo Adama (a follower of Danfodio), but they failed woefully and couldn't subjugate or conquer the overwhelming majority of our people.

Others started coming in from the far sahelian core-north during the colonial era and even till today as traders into the Gongola region.
Not just in the GONGOLA area alone, but the entire region stretching down from PLATEAU and GURARA, this is the same situation where strangers, settlers and visitors come into our region and try to redefine the existence of our people who have lived within our current location for thousands of years.

The question of who is a Visitor, Settler or Foreigner doesn't arise much in Plateau and Southern Kaduna anymore because we the Indigenes of these areas have been telling the entire world who we are and radically resisting every attempt of unscrupulous elements to redefine our age-long history.
This is however, not the case in the GONGOLA area where these narratives have largely been left unchallenged.

Today, when most Southern Nigerians hear of Jos (Plateau) people or Southern Kaduna people, they immediately have a good picture of who we are and what we stand for.
However, when they hear of ADAMAWA, they are not sure of what to think about. Meanwhile, in reality, there is no difference between the Indigenous people of Plateau, Southern Kaduna and Gongola (Adamawa). We are practically and basically the same people in terms of culture, mentality, social values, customs, history, languages, ancestry e.t.c.

Hear this and hear me clearly my people. No amount of lies, brainwashing or falsification of facts can change or redefine the history of the Gongola area or the wider PLATEAU-GURARA-GONGOLA region, because we the Indigenous people of these areas already had an identity before British Colonialism or any religious jihad.
Our ancestors founded the ancient NOK CIVILIZATION and the centuries old KWARARAFA KINGDOM CONFEDERACY where they lived in harmony and mutual co-existence.

This is the reason why every true Indigene of the Gongola area must continue to reject that evil name ADAMAWA which was imposed on us during the military rule by people who seek to redefine our history.

I find it so shameful that today you see grown-up men who are Bachama, Kilba, Mbula, Marghi, Michika (Kamwe) e.t.c and they say that they are proudly Adamawa men.
You may think it is just a name and not so serious, but what most of you guys do not understand is that by doing such a thing, you are insulting your ancestors and accepting defeat and subjugation by the Jihadist called MODIBBO ADAMA.
A defeat which never happened.
Most of us understand Hausa' language and we know that ADAMAWA clearly means the children/people of ADAMA.

As a Michika man or a Bachama woman, when you identify yourself to the world as ADAMAWA, you are identifying yourself as a follower or a descendant of a Jihadist who came from Senegal to wage war against your ancestors.
Do not misunderstand me my brethren, you can continue to use Adamawa for all official intents and purposes, because you have no other option as long as we all remain in the failed oppressive experiment called Nigeria. However, you must not insult your ancestors by proudly identifying yourself with the name Adamawa cos that is not your identity.

As someone from the Plateau, I have always admired you my brethren from Gongola due to your very industrious, enterprising and progressive nature. The extremely high levels of education, international travel and entrepreneurial spirit I see among the Michika people, Kilbas, Marghis, Buras, Falis e.t.c is something I am extremely proud of.
Most of us from Plateau, Southern Kaduna, Taraba, Nasarawa e.t.c are yet to catch up with such high levels of human development.
For this I say Kudos and may you guys continue to soar higher in life my brethren.

Unfortunately, since 2014, when Bokoharam activities took a next level turn, hundreds of thousands of you my brethren from Gongola (Adamawa state) have been displaced from your ancestral lands in which your ancestors lived for thousands of years.
Our brethren from Southern Borno have been the worst affected by this madness in the name of Religious extremism.

In Gongola (Adamawa state), people from the northern parts of the state like Madagali, Hong, Gombi, Michika and Mubi which share land boundaries with Southern Borno have been the most affected.
The irony of the situation is that we have no hand in this evil and decade-old sickness that has befallen our people. The majority of us are Christians and by no means took part in anyway whatsoever in the formation of this Jihadist terror group.

The million dollar question is why for God's sake should we suffer for crimes that neither us nor our fore-fathers committed??
The only answer I can clearly come up with to this question is that we are clearly victims of a case of CRIME BY ASSOCIATION.

As long as we continue to claim that we are from the North-east, Arewa or Nigeria, we must continue to clean up the mess that our neighbors committed.
The question is, for how long are we going to continue cleaning up this mess? Our parents survived MAITATSINE and the various ethno -religious clashes that errupted all over the so called 'Northern region' around the 80s, 90s down to the 2000s. They kept on praying that things would get better and that God will intervene. Today, not only are we faced with Bokoharam terrorists from the far sahelian core-north, we are also faced with the issue of killer Herdsmen, Bandits, ISWAP and what have you (different heads of the same snake).

Few years ago, a full scale invasion by these killer Herdsmen was launched against the people of the NUMAN FEDERATION.
Residents from Numan to Demsa to Lamurde, Mayo-Belwa, Song and even down to neighbouring Lau LGA in Taraba were being attacked by foreign mercenaries. It was like a killing spree from village to village. The kind of weapons used by these terrorists left us wondering if Nigeria was really a country with any form of border control. Even people from parts of destabilized war-torn countries like Syria, Somalia, Yemen and Afghanistan would be shocked at these kind of weapons.

Till today, there are many abandoned villages in Lau LGA of Taraba state and there has been absolutely no form of inquiries from the Federal government into what transpired.
In spite of all these shocking events, a good number of we the Indigenous people from PLATEAU- GURARA- GONGOLA still have the effrontery to speak against NNAMDI KANU for calling Nigeria a zoo.
I think Nnamdi Kanu was too diplomatic to call Nigeria a zoo. Nigeria is a full blown jungle. Zoos have boundaries, regulations and order. There is some form of protection against predators, poachers and other harmful vices in a zoo, but that doesn't exist in a jungle.

My great Gongola people, we have to ask ourselves. Are we going to handover the baton of killings, destruction, agony and backwardness to our children or we are going to take measures to end this madness once and for all no matter what it may take? Are we going to keep on hiding in cowardice and praying for a sinking ship (Nigeria), while we loose our villages one after the other to different kinds of terrorists?? Who knows what terror group is coming tomorrow?

Nigeria as a country has already proven to be a failed and incapacitated nation that is not capable of protecting our people's dignity, why then do we keep on hanging all our hopes and dreams to Nigeria?
Let us take a good look at the Igbos and Yorubas, they have decided to switch their allegiances to their own regions and their proposed independent countries. This is because they believe in themselves and they know their worth.

My beloved brothers and sisters, as a people, your allegiance must radically shift and only be centered to the Indigenous people of GONGOLA first and the wider PLATEAU-GURARA-GONGOLA area with people whom you share similar values with.
Enough of us tying ourselves to that useless name called AREWA or NORTH where you have different unscrupulous elements who will preach peace and smile in the daytime in public and as soon as nightime comes in their secret gatherings alone, it is an entirely different subject.

An evil identity called AREWA which our parents ignorantly held on to that has brought nothing but pains, tears, killings, destruction and all forms of backwardness.

There are 5- 6 million Indigenous people of Gongola (Adamawa state). This population is enough to make a meaningful impact that will shake the failed Nation called Nigeria. Now imagine if we put this population together with that of our brothers and sisters from Southern Borno, Taraba, Plateau, Southern Kaduna, Southern Gombe, Southern Bauchi, Niger east/FCT and Kainji (Kebbi south/Niger north).
That is approximately 40 million progressive people with very similar values and orientation. Enough to match each of the 3 major ethnic groups in Nigeria (the Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa).

However, this progressive feat cannot be achieved as long as we continue to radically focus our minds on our individual tribes, languages, dialects and groups.
Our ancestors lived, thrived together and built successful multi-ethnic confederacies. Why then have we chosen to remain small and fragmented in the Nigeria of today that we find ourselves??

If you are a proud son or daughter of GONGOLA, you read this letter up to this point, you received this letter with a grateful heart and believe in the contents therein, please do well to share it on your wall/pages/groups with your friends and families.
You can also serach for, like, follow, share and comment on this Facebook page PLATEAU- GURARA- GONGOLA as a way of showing your support.
Together, we shall overcome!


Written by
(Noah K. Son_Of_The_Plateau)
Plateau Gurara Gongola.

W

I hope your people listen to you, but Nigerians, especially the men are very docile. Even I, a lady, can easily conquer them.

This is a good one.I pray they succeed.Even though I'm not from the North, as a way of supporting them I will tell my Admawa Friends about it.
The enemies of the PLATEAU-GURARA-GONGOLA region shall fail and God alone shall be exalted.
It shall be well.

chukwunweikeemi:
This is a good one.I pray they succeed.Even though I'm not from the North, as a way of supporting them I will tell my Admawa Friends about it.
The enemies of the PLATEAU-GURARA-GONGOLA region shall fail and God alone shall be exalted.
It shall be well.

Thank you very much please do.
All Southern Nigerians we regard as our brothers and sisters, so it doesn't matter.

But just for the records, we have rejected that identity NORTH. It belongs to the Hausa' fulani and Kanuris.