The Fulani community in Mahanga, Riyom Local Government Area of Plateau State, has decried a purported move by a neighbouring community and their representative at the state house of assembly of plotting to stop the building of a primary school in the area.
In a petition addressed to the senior special assistant to the president on SDGs and copied Governor Simon Lalong and other security agencies in the state, it accused the member representing Riyom in the State Assembly, Timothy Dantong, of writing a petition and sponsoring a motion against the building of the school.
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The petition, which was signed by the youth leader and an elder of the community, Abdullahi Yusuf Ibrahim and Alh. Nuhu Adamu, respectively, alleged that the move by the Jol community and Dantong was aimed at generating another conflict in the area.
“After a careful study of the two complaints, we are convinced that they are from the same source and are meant to pile pressure on authorities to act to further serve the narrow ethnic-fascist and ethnic cleansing agenda of the Berom political and traditional elite of the area, “ the petition added.
However, Dantong debunked the allegation of raising a motion against the building of the school.
He said a community, under his constituency, had reported to him about a school being built and named Ardo Mahmud Mahanga Primary School, which it said it was not comfortable with the name given to the school.
He said, “Jol village gave me a complaint as a representative. I am planning to raise a motion in that regard. Mahanga was originally called the Rankum community but taken over by Fulani and renamed it Mahanga.
“For the federal government to build a school there called Mahanga, it shows that it is in agreement with land grabbers. There is no community called Mahanga in Riyom.”
Dangtong further said he was in support of any development in his community but would not support anything that would support renaming of any community.
But the Fulani said the Mahanga community was founded by their ancestral fathers and therefore the original name of their community was Mahanga.
“Mahanga is a village dominated by the Fulani ethnic group for hundreds of years now. The prominent and famous ancestor, who founded the community in those years, was known as Jouro Maccudo (Ardo Maccudo). Machado was said to have visited Cameroon where he brought back a species of guava tree, which are presently flowering Mahanga village.
“Mahanga is surrounded by Jol and Rim, which were known as Makaho in the north and Sho, Gashish and Kurra Falls by the east and south of Riyom and Barikin Ladi Local Government Area of Plateau state.
“Based on oral record Jauro Maccudo who founded the changing community first established a mosque when he settled in the area and gradually the village expanded. We then had likes of Madaki Sakarma and Madaki Ali who were our famous ancestors and since then the community continues to expand to date,’’ the petition said.
The Fulani community called on the office of SSA (SDGs) to ignore the petition in its entirety.
“The contents of the petition by Jol community, which was aimed at retarding the attainment of one of your lofty goals of education for all Nigerian children and eradication of illiteracy by the year 2030, adding that the Fulani, as an integral part of the Nigerian community deserved to benefit from SDGs’ goals.
They further called on the Plateau State House of Assembly to treat the said motion in a fair manner.
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