The Ikot Offiong and Oku Iboku cummunial clash: Earnest Request to Government
BEN USANG
THE INCESSANT COMMUNAL CLASH BETWEEN IKOT OFFIONG AND OKU IBOKU: AN EARNEST REQUEST FOR APPROPRIATE INTERVENTION TO ENABLE LASTING PEACE
Recently the age long communal clash between Ikot Offiong(an Efik Speaking Community) and Oku Iboku( an Ibibio Speaking Community) both in Itu Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State re- ignited once again with attacks and retaliatory attacks by militants from both communities on the opposing communities respectively. As it has often been the case lives and properties were lost as a result of the clash. Horrible tales of the manner some of the victims lost their lives abound leaving many families on both side in tears and wailings. Odukpani Local Government Area in Cross River State, which is nearby to the theatre of war, has not escaped the conflict, the Area has been home to most of the refugees from Ikot Offiong after the previous conflict in the year 2000 and continues to be the target for reprisal attack from militants suspected to be from Oku Iboku. Though the two warring communities are in Akwa Ibom State, Cross River State has continued to suffer the social, economic and security impact due to its proximity and the ethnic/ cultural affinity of the Ikot offiong people with the large population of the efik people of Cross River State who understandably expressed empathy with the Ikot Offiong people whom they consider to be systematically driven from their ancestral homeland with high level support of powerful elites from the other majority ethnic groups in their state.
The cause of the incessant crisis will be interpreted differently depending on the person you speak to from the two communities but an unbiased analyst will easily state that the conflict is rooted in the nationally prevalent problem of landlord and settler misunderstanding on ownership or utilization of land. Regrettably many mainstream and social media have wrongly presented the crisis as an inter-state conflict between Cross River and Akwa Ibom and some have even portrayed it as Herdsmen and Natives conflict. The risk of misguided or sentimental interpretation of the crisis is that it can spill over to be a major national problem that can engulf the two neighboring states. Already travelling between the two states through the Itu bridge has been seriously hampered with a complete deadlock of movement on Saturday 11th of Fedbruary,2017 for more than twelve hours. To clear the route military formations in both Cross River and Akwa Ibom States were drafted to ensure the security of the commuters.
That the conflict is between two communities in Akwa Ibom State further compounds its resolution as it makes the matter an internal affairs of the state though the Ikot Offiong people will have more trust in a mediation if the Cross River State Government is involve on their side.
I am curious to know from anyone reading this post what the Government of Akwa Ibom state has done to nib the crisis in the bud in fairness to the two warring factions, I might be wrong but am sensing that the government might have quietly taken sides with one of the camps just as it was rumored to have been the case in the year 2000. I am very concerned that if this recent clash is not resolved fairly there is likelihood that one of the parties will permanently exterminate their opponent from their ancestral abode as a show of the dominance of the majority over the minority. My view is that none of the two communities have a better or greater claim to the right of controlling the disputed territories but with the right intervention the contending groups can live peacefully together. LET US ALL BEAR IN MIND THAT LAND BELONGS TO GOD ULTIMATELY AND WE ARE ONLY CUSTODIANS BY HIS BENEVOLENCE. I call on the Government of Akwa Ibom State under the leadership of Governor Udom Emmanuel to take immediate steps to bring the parties to the negotiating table and to provide funds for the welfare of the victims and their families wherever they are seeking refuge.
The Government of Cross River State and Akwa Ibom State should come together to set up a Joint Impact Evaluation and Security committee to regularly assess the possible triggers of the conflicts and other measures that will prevent it’s reoccurrence. I plead with the Federal Government not to ignore this crisis but show sufficient interest and support to the two affected states until there is sufficient prove that the crises has been contained and the resultant humanitarian problems fully addressed.
THIS IS MY EARNEST REQUEST- Leader Ben Usang . Dated -13/02/17