Memorial Reception Splits Bauchi Sayawa Community Into Two Warring Camps
By Idris Khalid
The planned Baba Peter Gonto Memorial Reception by the Sayawa Community in Bauchi scheduled for Friday, 31st December, 2021 has turned into an arena of two different Sayawa groups with each accusing one another of the conduct of the event.
The concerned Mwari Youths Forum had last Monday accused former NASS Speaker, Yakubu Dogara of deceit that the planned reception in honour of Zaar Sage, Baba Peter Gonto may pose serious breach of peace, hence the need to put it on hold.
The views of the Mwari Forum were contrarily responded to by Zaar Youth Development Association (ZAYODA) and MWATI Youth Development Association (MWAYODA) which condemned and totally rejected the decision of the forum to hold the event, as it foresees great crisis and disunity in the land on the basis of organizers’ desperation.
The associations at a joint press conference yesterday led by ZAYODA National leader, Comrade Ga’allah Daniel and MWAYODA led by Comrade Zakka Faruk, said that organizers of the event should be held responsible for any breach of peace that may occur in Zaarland.
According to Daniel, organizers should be made to sign an undertaking with the security agencies as used to during Zaar annual festival, saying the forum was not even a union recognized by Mwari township youths.
Comrade Ga’allah Daniel therefore called on the Bauchi State Government and all relevant security agencies whose primary responsibility is to maintain law and order to ensure that peace reigns in the Sayawa community by suspending the event for now in order to avert any breach of peace.
“We reached an agreement that since the event is not organized by either Zaar Development Association (ZDA) or Council of Gung Zaar Select, it means it’s something that we have no role to play unless otherwise, because it’s purely a family business”.
Daniel expressed dismay that an invitation card in circulation in the name of the family of Baba Peter Gonto in conjunction with the mother body ZDA NATIONAL, noting that the event is aimed at creating problem and disunity among the Sayawa people, and if not properly handled, will create chaos and insecurity.
According to Faruk, “In respect to the press conference held yesterday by the so called MWARI Concerned Youth Forum we as the mother body of MWARI Youth Development Association we totally condemned their decision, More so such union is not recognized by MWARI Youth.”
