A group in Bauchi, VYCAMS Peace Awareness Initiative, has organised an inter-faith peace meeting to reconcile three Bauchi communities following a crisis that occurred in their area.
The communal crisis occurred early May following skirmishes between youths from the three communities of Gudum Hausawa, Gudum Sayawa and Gudum Fulani on the outskirts of Bauchi metropolis.
The state government had toimpose a dusk to dawn curfew in the area to prevent further escalation of the crisis.
The three communities have been living side by side with each other for decades. Each of the tribes, the Hausawa, Sayawa and Fulani occupied the area called Gudum. Two persons lost their lives while several others were injured, including the Gudum Sayawa and Gudum Fulani community leaders when they tried to intervene in the crisis.
The meeting, according to the organizers, which was attended by traditional, religious and other community leaders from the three communities, was aimed at finding ways to ensure lasting peace among the residents.
Speaking during the meeting, chairman of the group, Comrade Daniel Gambo, explained that the group comprises people of different faith and tribes in the state adding that its aims are to promote peace, create a bond of solidarity among people of all religions and ensure social justice.
“Our goals are to promote peace, justice, inter-faith dialogue and reconciliation as well as to remove the cause of hardship and replace despair with hope, fear with human security and humiliation with dignity”.
Speaking separately, the village heads of Gudum Fulani, Malam Umar Abdullahi, Gudum Hausawa Malam Musa Mato and a Christian cleric Reverend Ezekiel Abasu Gwandun, identified youth restiveness, immorality and drugs abuse as root causes of violence in the society.
They, therefore, urged the government to create jobs for them and tasked parents on proper upbringing of their children.