Plateau: Fulani, Berom refugees share camps in Kaduna

[DT]

Elder Mathew, as he simply gave his name, dragged unwilling goats, pulling the rope hard enough to even cut their throats, soon after the morning rain of yesterday, subsided. He was nervous to speak to Daily Trust, but his young son, who sought better identification of this reporter, later convinced him to speak.

"Yes, I have both Fulani and Berom people who were displaced by the recent crisis in Plateau state, staying in my house. They ran from the bloody crisis, and were staying at the primary school, but I took them in – two families, one of Fulani, and the other, of Berom. They are living happily here", the septuagenarian told Daily Trust in front of his compound, part of which is camping two families displaced by the recent crisis between Fulani nomads and Berom peasants in the neighboring villages of Riyom local government area of Plateau State. His compound in Aboro, a sleepy settlement south of Kaduna, about 15 kilometers from a forest, along Jos-Akwanga Road, is just one of the many houses camping either Fulani or Berom displaced persons or both.

Aboro, headquarters of Aboro district of Sanga local government area of Kaduna State, is also just one of the many Kaduna villages where displaced persons of both Fulani and Berom extractions in the neighboring Plateau State fled to after they picked arms against each other in their own places.

The District Head of Aboro, Alhaji Shuaibu Suleiman Galadima, insisted he had no authority to make confirmations about the presence of fleeing refugees in his area, but villagers said over 3,000 displaced persons from Plateau State are presently camping in Aboro. They said the population of refugees was still swelling up Aboro. The villagers gave names of villages with large number of displaced persons as Aboro, Hayin Kwanta, Aboro Daji, and Ajangwe.

Umar Garba, the village head of Angwan Mallam, another village under Aboro, also refused to speak officially to Daily Trust, but people there confirmed the presence of Fulani and Berom displaced persons in his area, after both ethnic groups picked arms against each other in a bloody violence that has claimed hordes of lives in recent weeks. A serving senator, Gyang Dantong, was killed in the latest one which happened last week.

The nomads and peasants have been fleeing their villages in the neighboring Riyom over weeks now, but the latest incident in which the senator and other notable figures from the area, were killed, heightened the situation, forcing more people to flee into Aboro.

"On that day alone, we had not less than 700 people who ran into Aboro from villages in Riyom", a villager there said, pointing at the LEA Primary School, a few meters away from the palace of the district head, where he said the refugees first camped.

"They were in the classes – Fulani and Berom alike – for some days, but elders here sat and decided that the displaced persons be camped in houses where owners volunteered to accommodate them", they said.

Elder Mathew, the septuagenarian, was one of the Good Samaritans who volunteered to open his arms; and he did that wide enough to accommodate two families – Fulani and Berom.

"I don't know them. I just helped because of God", Elder Mathew, who said a part of the house, where he camped the two displaced families, belonged to his son who is working in Abuja.

A classroom-style zinc building of three rooms, only wide enough to accommodate the full length of an adult, is tucked in between a cluster of other houses, not more than 20 meters from the palace. This is Elder Mathew's house, where Isa Muhammadu Abdullahi and Jonah David, Fulani nomad, and Berom peasant, respectively, are camping their families.

Muhammadu, a Fulani nomad, lives in Makira village, while David lives in Shonon village; all in Riyom. Both male adults herded their families along bush paths, sometimes, trespassing into farms, till they found their way into Aboro, often looking over their shoulders while the journey to refuge lasted.

"I ran with my family to this place; it took us several hours to get here", Muhammdu said, pointing his right index finger to count members of his household which include his aged mother and an aunt. He said he met several Berom people on the way to Aboro, and rendered help to some who had difficulties.

His aged aunt, Salamatu Isa, who sustained injuries on her right foot during the journey to Aboro, was being attended to by a local patent medicine store owner, Josiah – a Berom, who visited that morning to dress the wounds.

Asim Jonah, wife of David Jonah, fetched water and helped the aged Fulani woman, who called her, yarinyana (Hausa for my daughter). All these happened when Muhammadu spoke to Daily Trust. At a point, a young child belonging to Bridget Steven, a relative of Asim – also a displaced person – who came to visit, ran into the arms of Muhammadu, who cuddled him (the boy), as he spoke to this reporter.

Asked if he had known the families he is living with before the refuge in Aboro, Muhammadu said he met them only at the primary school where they first camped. "We shared food, and became friends; almost like one family. Our children played together at the camp. So it was easy for us both to agree to move into this house together. We are living happily here", he said.

Muhammadu and his family live in one of the rooms – almost like they are staying in a closest, while Asim and her children live in one. The third room is where the tow aged women are staying. They have been around for days now, and help comes their way only from concerned villagers.

"The people here are good. Hakimi (district head) is most wonderful. He has organized his people to give any help we need", said Asim, a young mother of three. Her husband was not around at the time of this visit. He returned to their village in Shonon, to fetch some grains to serve them for food for days to come, in Aboro.

Nothing yet has come to relieve the displaced, apart from the widow's might coming from the poor villagers. The minister for water resources had visited weeks back, and made donation of relief materials and cash, according to the district head who agreed to answer questions on the issue of relief materials. But the beneficiaries of the minister's gestures were the early refugees, who also benefitted from a similar gesture by the chairman of Riyom local government.

At Gwantu, headquarters of Sanga local government area, the council has had not less than four security meetings with the chairman, Samuel Danjuma Magaji, presiding over. But the security meetings have not responded to the needs of the refugees.

Daily Trust stopped at the council secretariat twice to speak to the chairman, but officers there said he was not on sit. One said "the chairman travelled to Kaduna", and refused to speak more, not even on complaints from both villagers and refugees that the council was unaware that displaced persons have fled in their numbers into his area of administration and needing a help.

A councilor, who agreed to speak on condition of anonymity, said "as a matter of fact, we are aware, individually, that refugees are running into our villagers in numbers. But as a council, we are yet to know that. When Daily Trust reported that development, our chairman and the police and army people were mad. They were not happy. I think that is why the chairman travelled to Kaduna to go and explain."

The DPO was also not on sit at the time of visits. He was said to have also travelled, but not a specific place was mentioned.

Meanwhile, hours after this reporter left, calls came in from various villagers, who reported that three vans conveying displaced persons, both Fulani and Berom, arrived in Aboro. "They headed straight to the primary school, and began to offload people. But we saw our chief rushing there. Maybe he will tell them to relocate, and try, as usual, to plead with villagers to accommodate them so that our school children will not be displaced", said a villager.

The chairman did not pick his calls, just as he did not reply to a text message sent to his phone for his comments.



Daily Trust