₦airaland Forum

KWARA STATE GOVERNMENT NON-IMPLEMENTATION OF THE WHITE PAPER AND COURT JUDGMENTS ON TSARAGI/SHARE LAND DISPUTE HAS PERSISTENTLY POSE THREAT TO PEACE AND SECURITY TO THE TWO COMMUNITIES .
We wish to draw the attention of well meaning Nigerians on the persistent conflict between Tsaragi and Share district on land dispute . Over the years Tsaragi community have lived and shared boundary with the Yoruba speaking people of Share community the hometown of the present Governor of Kwara state Alhaji Abdulfatai Ahmed.The people of Share community came to settle in their present place with the permission of the Nupe people of Tsaragi as the historical owners of the land since 15th century. These two community existed as one community and district even under the colonial rule up till 1933,to the extent that the Olukpako of Share is been enthroned with the recommendation of Ndapkowtao of Tsaragi (the emir of Tsaragi).
The two communities became divided in 1976 during the Local Government Reform as a map was drawn with intent to usurp the Nupe land and its people as part of the newly created Ifelodun Local Government Area with Share district as the capital.
As these degenerate into crisis, the elites of Share community wrote to the Federal Boundary Commission to transfer ten Nupe village and to annex Kange community under Tsaragi district to Share district.This led to the setting up of the Justice Mamman Nasir Commission of Inquiry in 1976. At the end of their findings, the Commission recommended that the disputed lands should remain under Tsaragi district as the original owners of the land.
Since then, Share community did not want peace to rain, they continue to harass, intimidate and attack the Tsaragi community, which led to the various clashes in 1978, year2000, 2008 then the recent one on the 19th Dec.2015 which hundreds of lives were lost, properties and farmlands worth millions were equally destroyed.
After the clash in 2008 between the two communities the then Governor of Kwara State Dr. Bukola Saraki made efforts to bring about peace between the two communities through Justice Gafar Judicial Commission of Inquiry which gave birth to the state Government White Paper onTsaragi/Share Land Dispute from the official Kwara State Gazette No.7vol.43 of 3rd April 2009 onTsaragi/Share Land Dispute.
The boundary dispute between the Tsaragi/Share people of Kwara State has further been escalated as a result of the Herald News Paper Publications of Friday 3rd August, 2012, where his Excellency the Executive Governor of Kwara State declared Kange community as a buffer zone.
We wish to bring to the notice of Nigerians ,that the Executive Governor of Kwara State has deliberately deviated from the path of peace, which his predecessor had worked so hard to establish over the years. His deliberate attempt to distort some historical facts, records, and the White Paper released and published in the official Kwara State Gazette No.7 Vol.43 of 3rd April, of 2009 (when he was a cabinet member). The Gazette is on the judicial commission of inquiry recommendations about Tsaragi/Share boundary dispute. The said Commission was instituted during the reign of His Excellency Dr. Bukola Saraki (who at that time always warned the current Governor not to be partisan); to harmonize and proffer permanent solution to the lingering land dispute between the communities which is once again under threat due to the NON-IMPLEMENTATION OF THE KWARA STATE OFFICIAL WHITE PAPER ON BOUNDARY DEMARCATION AS RECOMMENDED IN THE SAID WHITE PAPER GAZETTED.
All the efforts of the former administration, which were aimed at proffering a permanent solution to the dispute, have been thwarted by the actions of the present administration at the point of implementation.
The Government Gazette of 23rd September, 2012 see annexure1’’Peace Preservation Law (cap p3) Kange (Declaration of Proclaimed district) which declared ‘’the village of Kange with its environs in Edu local Government Area as a proclaimed district for the purpose of the preservation of peace in the’’, was drawn from historical facts, records and reports of various commissions set up by the past government on their effort to bring about lasting peace to Tsaragi/Share boundary dispute.
We also wish to bring to the knowledge of Nigerians that the Peace Preservation Law did not declare Kange and its environs a ‘proclaimed district’ to be allocated to interested parties, neither did the dictionary define a ‘Buffer Zone’ as a land to be allocated to individual or group of people.
Furthermore, the inability of the State Government to implement the exact recommendations of the judicial commission in 2009, has further given the Share community the opportunity to intimidate and deprive Tsaragi people access to their farmlands.
On the 6th of August, 2012, the people of Share community assisted by a detachment of the Nigerian Police Force went to Nupe farm land in Goni Area with a tractor. The tractor was cultivating Nupe farm land under the watchful eye of the Nigerian Police Force, along with some Share thugs who were singing war songs.
Furthermore, if the Government is taking over Kange for the purpose of peace preservation the same thing cannot be said of Goni Area, which is directly behind Tsagari town. This is a clear message to the people of Tsaragi that Kwara State Government has dumped the implementation of the 2010Gazette and the recent court judgement on this same issue which off cause was in favour of Tsaragi district.
We believes that this Government is for all the people of Kwara State. Therefore, we call on well meaning Nigerians to call the Kwara state Government to order and to advise the Governor not use Government Machinery to intimidate the people of Tsaragi district. Since the Government is not meant just for the people of Share community, He should also be remained that his responsibility as the Governor of Kwara State among others is not to use his position to actualize Share ambition to annex Kange, but rather to use his position to bring about permanent solution to the Tsaragi/Share Boundary Dispute..
We therefore solicit the support of well meaning Nigerians to intervene in this matter by urging the Kwara State Government to pursue the path of peace between the two communities, by taking the following desired actions:
Implement the Recommendations of the White Paper of the Judicial Commission of inquiry Tsaragi/Share Boundary and Demarcation as earlier gazette by the Kwara State Government and the recent court judgement .
That transparent effort be made by the Kwara State Government to ensure that Tsaragi farmers are able to farm in their respective age-long farms in order to prevent poverty from engulfing the community;
That His Excellency the Executive Governor of Kwara State as MAIGIDA that he is, see Kwara State as one entity that must be united and not separated.
Finally,it is our candid believe that the Governor will act fast in order to further avoid lost of lives and destruction of properties and do Justice he sworn to uphold , so that the two communities can sleep with their two eyes close peacefully and to engaged in their lawful commercial activities.