Our attention has been drawn to a statement made by a group said to be Lere Local Government Unity Association Forum and signed by one Barrister Nasiru Bello Dembo and his secretary, one Mal. Ahmed Idris in which they accused the organizers of Southern Kaduna Cultural Festival (SKFEST) which ended on 28/12/2024 with a grand finale at the New Kafanchan Township Stadium.
The group stated amongst others, that some political office holders from Lere local government were tagged as members of Southern Kaduna. Quoting section 8, 48 and 72 of Nigeria's Constitution which "...lumped Lere local government into Northern Senatorial District of the state," adding that "...Lere local government is not in any way part of geographical classification of Southern Kaduna and warned the organizers of the event to refrain from such publications to avoid causing confusion, " the statement ended.
We, the natives as a Coalition will give it to them in this context because it is true that politically, Lere Local Government is in zone 1.
It is however not lost on us how the political maneuvers that produced Hon. James Bawa Magaji and H.E Dabo Lere worked successfully against the state's northern power block, and how Lere Local Government had to be carved out and later taken to Zone 1 to scuttle recurrence of that maneuver, and we shall come to that. It is good that we have been tasked by Barr Idris' group to wake up from our decades of slumber!
The Journey so Far:
It is worth noting the fact that "facts are sacred" and this corroborates the old dictum, "you cannot shave my head without my consent." At this juncture, a mental journey into the past is key as far as this discourse is concerned. Thus:
1. Southern Kaduna (12 LGAs including Lere LGA is NOT the same as Kaduna South Senatorial District (8 LGAs excluding Lere LGA) neither is Northern Kaduna (11 LGAs) same as Kaduna North Senatorial District (8 LGAs).
2. The present Lere and Kauru LGAs used to be part of Saminaka LGA up till 1989 and the old Saminaka LGA was part of the Senatorial District of old Kachia LGA, comprising the present Kachia, Chikun, Kajuru and Kagarko LGAs (the 2nd largest in Gen. Gowon's Nigeria of 1967) AND old Jema'a LGA comprising present Jema'a, Kaura, Sanga and Jaba LGAs represented by Senator Jacob Madaki, a great Bajju man from Zonkwa (now, Late) 1st October 1979 - 30th September 1983 and 1st October 1983 - 31st December 1983 (when Gen. Muhammadu Buhari ousted the Democratically elected administration of NPN/President Shehu Shagari.
3. Present Lere LGA was extracted from the old Saminaka LGA. The boundaries were so manipulated to constitute an electoral constituency, such that it favours the state's northern power, which today constitutes the Northern Senatorial District. This was the same manipulation done to old Kachia LGA where Chikun and Kajuru LGAs were extracted AND taken to Kaduna Central Senatorial District ALL with the aim of "dismembering" the Southern Kaduna peoples as a voting block and a voice. We remain resolved that :
i. These have not, will not and cannot remove the Southern 'Kadunaness' from Southern Kaduna people whether in Lere, Kauru, Chikun, Kajuru, Kaduna South or ALL the other LGAs for that matter; it is a matter of the heart. For the records, SOKAPU is a sociocultural association and the constitution of Nigeria is not ambiguous about that, so why the heartache? As natives of the area, it is one of our fundamental rights and moral obligation to belong to SOKAPU This is a matter of choice and we have chosen to align with SOKAPU as a people, the more reason why as usual, we took part in the 2024 SKFEST and went ahead to also invite our political leaders whom we elected into various offices only for us to get this reaction from a group. Indeed, we are taking note.
The political office holders from Lere LGA that were referenced in the program of events for the grand finale to have come from Southern Kaduna could not debunk it, perhaps, for political reasons and that may explain why we have a different hand and voice on the matter in view. Thus, the quickness of the hand cannot deceive the eye, a clear case of one man crying more than the bereaved or one taking panadol for another's headache.
ii. No Electoral Constituency is permanent and we trust time and space.
iii. That we the natives of Lere local government are part of SOKAPU NATURALLY, all skewed demographies in attempt to suggest otherwise notwithstanding. We are a people bonded by traditional, cultural, historical and customary affinity. This is attested to by available and verifiable historical facts nicely captured in the archives dating back to migration periods. The Nok civilization dating 500 years back is there for confirmation.
iv. Before Usman Dan Fodio's jihad of 1804, where were the great grand fathers of the writers of this press statement? We are not unaware of this history and, in the spirit of cosmopolitanism and open society, we have tried to stomach these historical facts and also chose to look the other way thereby allowing the 'sleeping dog not to wake up.' Little wonder, the thrust of the press statement under interrogation essentially stands on one crippled leg-political reason. In contrast and for emphasis, our membership to SOKAPU precedes this politically motivated press statement neither can we be cowed by it to disown SOKAPU or leave her, she is for us a mother from whom we have sucked the milk of being more humane, considerate, fair and above all, we as natives are more comfortable identifying with SOKAPU and our roots in Kaduna South Senatorial District unlike what we keep suffering from Zone 1 for decades without visible benefits of dividends of democracy. The facts are there for empirical verification. Structural and physical projects are lopsidedly located in northern part of the state where the Fulani are the Lords, even Hausa people that own the land are marginalized there. Same is the fate of other tribal communities and natives in Lere LGA like Amo, Piti, Kinugu, Anir'Arahgu (Kahugu) Akurmi, Gure, Lemoro, Janji and Dingi that are lumped into the northern zone. These facts are verifiable and we challenge any investigative authority to check it.
In truth, Barr Nasiru and Mal. Ahmed Idris essentially tasted the waters and chose the right time!
v. Is the constitution of this country silent on freedom of association? Certainly NO!
vi. Can Barr. Nasiru Bello Dembo and Mallam Ahmed Idris publish the names and members of their association with its ethno-religious composition? It is difficult to belief that there is any of our ethnic groups that is part of Barr Nasiru's association. However, since the constitution of Nigeria allows freedom of association, having any native as a member of Barr Nasiru's association cannot be a surprise but we are skeptical if they were carried along in this press statement, even if they were, it essentially rests on political reason as stated from the foregoing, because the writers of the document under review only wrote to defend our elected delegates at all levels that they do not belong to Southern Kaduna Senatorial District which is intrinsically true, but it is NOT true that we the natives of Lere LGA are not part of SOKAPU, indeed, we are.
vii. The leaderships of our various communities in Lere LGA that have over the decades registered with SOKAPU and have been participating in her activities include Amo, Piti, Kinugu, Anir'Arahgu (Kahugu), Akurmi, Gure, Dingi, Janji, Lemoro and Jere. We wonder why our membership to SOKAPU has made Barr. Idris' group jittery, indeed, Southern Kaduna is our ancestry.
For the records, Dr Hakeem Baba Ahmed used Mauritania's Nationality Code as captured in the Nigeria Tribune of 2021 that, "...Mauritania's Nationality Code of June 12, 1961 says any child " at least one of whose parents is a citizen of Mauritania, regardless of the child's country of birth is a citizen by decent. The newspaper adds that, "...their old man died 34 years ago, yet the road to Mauritania has remained a familiar terrain for his surviving children. On Saturday April 17 this year (2021), Hakeem Baba-Ahmed with his brothers and sisters and uncles had a family get-together in Nouakchott, Mauritania (see his Facebook post made on 18/4/2021)..."
It was Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed with his unforgettable roots from Mauritania that masterminded the skewed delineation of constituencies when he held sway as the Secretary of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in 1998 for the political expediency of Fulani against the natives. If Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed visits Mauritania his ancestral home for a family meeting while retaining his Nigerian citizenship at the same time, we are safe to conclude that Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed has set a precedence on this, therefore, we, the natives of Lere LGA have the moral obligation to follow suit. Indeed, what is good for Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed ought to be good for the natives of Lere LGA, and let it be on record that we affirm that we are more at home with our kinsmen in Southern Kaduna Senatorial District and by extension, Gurara State if the conversation for its creation continues, and no one can and should deny us from identifying with our kinsmen.
Reading in between the lines, we find the press statement under reference too 'pregnant.' On the strength of the foregoing therefore, we call on Senator Ibrahim Khalid (Kaduna North) and Senator Sunday Marshall Katung (Kaduna South) Senatorial Districts respectively to, as a matter of urgency, sponsor a bill to rectify this political banditry championed against us by Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed.
SKFEST is an annual cultural event organized by us members of SOKAPU, where our cultural values as a people are promoted, unity is preached, patriotism encouraged and unconditional love practicalized. In the 2024 SKFEST, during the grand finale, H.E Senator Uba Sani, the governor of Kaduna state used the event to preach peace. He also told the people about his style of inclusive governance. Governor Diri Douyi of Bayelsa State, a good friend of Southern Kaduna praised Governor Uba Sani for a paradigm shift of inclusiveness, urging him to sustain it for a better, united and developed Kaduna state. Governor Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau state was also there to lend his voice on the conversation on the needed peace and harmonious coexistence. Ditto, the Governor of Borno State, Prof. Babagana Zulum, ably represented by his Deputy, Dr. Umar Usman Kadafur. The government of Kano and Katisna states and other political office holders across the country were also in attendance to celebrate the people's rich cultural heritage.
So, we the natives of Lere LGA are more comfortable with a region that has been promoting unity, peace, patriotism and mutual coexistence and what is wrong with that? May God give Senators Ibrahim Khalid and Sunday Marshall Katung of the Northern and Southern Senatorial Districts respectively more strength, wisdom and good health to take Lere LGA back to where it was decades ago.
It is therefore our considered opinion using eagle eyes and lenses of sound reason from the foregoing that, essentially, Barr Nasiru Bello and Mal. Ahmed Idris only stood as acolytes to defend those we elected into political offices but, on one hand, veiled it as 'protecting' Lere's geographical location and on the other, 'testing the waters,' whether or not the natives of Lere LGA are part of SOKAPU and to the latter, WE SAY YES, WE ARE PART OF SOKAPU and nothing will either change or rewrite that historical fact in our hearts and even in the archives. Barr Idris' press statement is actually a propaganda-induced amnesia. Indeed, we were the ones that elected these political leaders and since identifying with our kinsmen in Southern Kaduna is now an offense to a group, we now know better. Rewriting our history and or changing our ancestry is too late!
Signed:
Comrade Stephen Sale,
__________________
Secretary.
Comrade Engr. S.I Mori,
__________________
Acting Coordinator, SOKAPU Lere LGA Branch.
Comrade Bitrus Elisha,
____________________
CDAs Coordinator Representing Lere LGA at SOKAPU's National Body.
Ethnic Groups' Presidents.
1. Akurmi
2. Amo
3. Anir’Arahgu (Kahugu)
4. Dingi
5. Gure
6. Janji
7. Jere
8. Kinugu
9. Lemoro
10. Piti
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