The Atyap Community Development Association, ACDA, in Zangon Kataf Local Government Area of Kaduna State has noted with concern that the petition against its paramount ruler, Agwatyap, Sir Dominic Gambo Yahaya, by a group, “Concerned Residents of Zangon Urban,” is a deliberate attempt to destabilize peace in Atyap Chiefdom and Zangon Kataf Local Government Area.
ACDA, therefore, called on the security agencies to carry out detailed investigations to unmask the authorship and intent of the petition and bring the perpetrators to book before they plunge Zangon Kataf into violence.
D. Samuel T. Achie, President, ACDA, in a statement, stated, “The attention of the leadership of Atyap Community Development Association (ACDA) and the entire peace-loving people of Atyap land, home and abroad, has been drawn to a dangerous, provocative, unfounded and highly divisive anonymous petition circulated by a ‘Concerned Residents of Zango Urban,’ falsely accusing His Royal Highness, our Paramount Ruler, Agwatyap, Sir Dominic Gambo Yahaya, of injustices and oppression against the Hausa and Fulani community in Zangon Urban.
“We view this write-up not only as a desperate and malicious attempt to tarnish the hard-earned reputation of the Agwatyap, but as a direct assault on the peaceful coexistence that communities and people in Zangon Kataf, and the Sen. Uba Sani and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu governments, have worked tirelessly to build over the years.”
The statement observed that the contents of the said petition are not only manifestly false, but inciting, inflammatory, and reckless with the potential and intention of destabilizing the peace and provoking avoidable ethno-religious tensions in the area.
The statement said that the “Concerned Residents of Zango Urban” had, in a petition, explained, “The concerned members of the Zango Urban community in Zangon Kataf Local Government Area, Kaduna State, hereby bring to the attention of relevant authorities, stakeholders, and peace-loving Nigerians the growing injustice and oppression being perpetrated by Agwa Atyap (also known as the traditional ruler of the Kataf people) against our peaceful communities that make up the Atyap Chiefdom.”
“Shockingly, Agwa Atyap, under whose traditional authority we fall, has chosen to misuse his powers by oppressing the Zango Urban community. Alongside some of his chiefs and prominent Kataf individuals, he has denied our people access to their farmlands — lands which our forefathers have cultivated for over 400 years.”
ACDA stated that it is disturbing because the said petition is against a leader known by many Hausa and Fulani in Zangon Kataf to be generous, compassionate, and fair to them, adding that they also know him to be an ambassador of peace with outstanding records of maintaining lasting peace in the face of unprovoked attacks, maiming, burning, and killings in his domain.
ACDA added that Dominic Gambo Yahaya, the Agwatyap, is a peace-builder and statesman who has consistently championed inclusive dialogue, just and fair dealing in his Chiefdom, and peaceful coexistence among all ethnic and religious groups in his domain, including the Hausa and Fulani of Zango Urban.
Achie said, “That some disgruntled, negligible elements in Zangon Kataf settlement, who disguise themselves as Concerned Residents of Zango Urban, are not happy with the sustained peaceful coexistence in Atyap land, Southern Kaduna, and Kaduna State in general, brought about by the deliberate action of His Highness, the Agwatyap, Sen. Uba Sani, and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. They are therefore bent on creating ethno-religious tension in Kaduna State starting with Zangon Kataf. This would not happen in our land and among our people.
“That the allegations of land seizure, targeted harassment, or ethnic oppression are entirely baseless, malicious, and without any iota of truth. These claims are fabricated to mislead the public and incite hatred against the Atyap people and their leadership. We challenge the authors of this petition to come out to prove the allegation contained therein publicly.”
He explained that land or farmland in Atyap land, like in any other community in Nigeria, is not owned by tribe or ethnic group but by individuals or families, pointing out that land disputes are either between individuals or families and such disputes are always settled through traditional arbitration or in the regular courts, and not through incitement or blackmail of traditional leaders or ethnic groups.
“We wonder why the faceless land claimants are afraid to come out publicly and lodge their grievances with the appropriate organs or institutions,” he noted.
He said that the government should act fast to ensure the peace process put in place by His Highness and the leadership of the Atyap Community Development Association is not truncated by the so-called faceless Concerned Residents of Zangon Urban.
He added that the said petition is clearly the handiwork of a few mischief-makers and ethnic chauvinists claiming to be Concerned Residents of Zango Urban whose agenda is to sow seeds of discord and revive the dark days of communal violence, assuring that they shall resist this with all lawful means available.
According to the statement, “It is very unfortunate and shameful that the traditional leadership in Zango Urban District claimed helplessness in calling the miscreants parading themselves as Concerned Residents of Zango Urban to order, despite accepting that the contents of the petition are blatantly false and defamatory. This amounts to tacit endorsement of illegality that should attract disciplinary measures and reprimand.”
According to ACDA, “We call on the so-called Concerned Residents of Zango Urban and the traditional leadership of Zango Urban District to henceforth desist from sponsoring, supporting, or turning a blind eye to inflammatory propaganda targeted at the leadership of the Atyap traditional institution, and by implication the peace-loving people of Atyap land, as the days of doing so and getting away with it are over. All hands should be on deck to sustain the peace we are enjoying in our land.”
ACDA also demanded a retraction of the inciting and libelous publication immediately, as failure will be interpreted as a direct provocation and deliberate sabotage of peace efforts in our land.
The statement said, “We reaffirm our loyalty and unwavering support for His Royal Highness, Sir Dominic Gambo Yahaya, the Agwatyap, Zangon Kataf Local Government, the Kaduna State Government, and the Federal Government of Nigeria and pledge that we will remain law-abiding at all times.
“We urge all our sons and daughters and well-meaning Nigerians to disregard the said petition in its entirety as we await the action of the security apparatus in the area to swiftly do the needful.”
