Calculate, Mapeo trade tackles over agitation for Dayale Chiefdom
• You’re acting a predetermined script – Calculate
• No your attacks malicious, baseless – Mapeo
• Atiku has no right to decide our fate, if he likes he can work against us – Mapeo
By Mohd Ismail
The agitation for the creation of Dayale Chiefdom in Jada local government of Adamawa State has led to heated exchanges between the chairman of the movement for the creation of Dayale Chiefdom, Mr Usman Mapeo and another son of the area, Umar Bello Jada also known as Calculate.
Calculate has in a statement made available to this medium accused the trio of Kasim Njidda, Abdulkarim Bakala and Saidu Umar of allowing themselves to be used as poster boys of some powerful interests who want to balkanize Ganye chiefdom for self serving purposes.
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In the critical treatise, Calculate also accused the trio of trying to whip up sectarian crisis amongst the residents of Ganye chiefdom through their agitation for the creation of a new chiefdom.
“Kasim Njidda, Abdulkarim Bakala and Saidu Umar under the influence of Adamawa State Government are so determined to create chaos and disunity among the Muslim Ummah in Ganye Chiefdom by ochestrating the balkanization of our one, strong, united Chiefdom.
“They must take into cognizance that Jada District or Jada town is not a Chamba settlement. That land has been ceded to the Fulanis over 150 years ago under peaceful diplomatic agreement not through Jihad when it was a jungle. The Fulanis fought the wild animals and clear the land and have since then been inhabited by their offspring.
“If for any reason any unpatriotic element within the Chamba tribe and their sponsors accept the contract to balkanize their land, their traditional heritage by creating another so called chiefdom weather is Dayela or Timyela, they shouldn’t propose Jada as their capital as that will entail imposing their self serving leadership on other people’s territory.
“If they are not deliberately trying to cause chaos, instability and hatred among the peace loving people of Ganye Chiefdom and Jada in particular, please I beg them in the name of Almighty Allah to drop the evil idea of balkanising our Chiefdom. We don’t need it, it won’t serve any of our interest nor would it be of any value to us as a community, we want peaceful coexistence, unity and harmonious society guided by justice and fairness,” he said.
But reacting to the flurry of allegations, the chairman, movement for the creation of Dayale Chiefdom dismissed Calculate as an irritant and a hireling working to earn a living.
He noted that the movement is not prodded by the government but one that is informed by the altruistic desires for self improvement and self determination by the majority of the populace of Jada noting that the demand is being championed by over 70 percent of the people who are Chamba people.
Mapeo added that out of the eleven wards of Jada local government, Chamba people always produce nine councillors while the two are left for Fulani on the alter of goodwill and friendliness. He added that all the chairmen, vice chairman and two members of the state house of assembly from the area are always Chamba people.
“We have 19 districts in Jada if only 3 or 4 are headed by Fulani why must we consult them? Chamba constitute 70 percent of the population so what we are doing here is basically a Chamba affair. We are peacefully agitating for this without spiting or denigrating the person or the office of the Gangwari Ganye,” he said.
When asked whether the movement sought the support of renowned politicians like the former vice president of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar who is a prominent stakeholder in the area, Mapeo said the former vice president has no right to decide the fate of the people.
“Atiku has no right to decide our fate as a people, we are not conducting a referendum, we are not conducting a plebiscite, this is a movement for the creation of Dayale Chiefdom. If you subscribe to it stay, if you don’t stay away.
“We don’t need 100 percent consensus. Let Atiku work against us if he likes. Atiku is the Waziri of Adamawa and see how they balkanize Adamawa. If he was not able to stop it then why must he stop our own,” Mapeo noted.
He added that the agitation stems from the altruistic desires of the people to be self governed, enhance dispute resolution, address social insecurity and other noble goals.
“The reason for this movement is to promote justice and enhance indigenous majority rule, establish traditional governance structure that will compliment modern governance, provide framework for community development initiatives such as education and healthcare, provide proper framework for local security surveillance, easier resolution of communal disputes, recognize, preserve and promote cultural heritage,” he said.
While responding to the allegation that Jada was given to Fulani based on a mutual agreement between Chamba people and Fulani, Mapeo said nothing of that nature happened.
“Jada has been part and parcel of Chamba land. Fulani Jihad did not conquer Jada. Jada is part of ancient Bangen chiefdom. Fulani who came to Jada seek permission from our grand parents to rear their cattles,” he said.
He noted that Jada and Mayo Kalaye were way stations when German colonial masters had their reign saying “do not allow anyone to tell you lies.”
“Calculate can’t distort history to give legitimacy to people who want to rule at all costs. We have four chiefdoms since 1600. When did Nasarawo came into existence? it came into being in the 1900s. Even the Wakili Chamba representing Lamido in Chamba land was imposed by the British colonial masters. It is not because Adamawa conquered Chamba land. In fact, Chamba people fought Germans and even killed two Germans in Gurum and no Chamba man conceded any land to Fulani,” he noted.
