Adamawa elite: Time to build bridges of reconciliation

The cacophonous rejoinders trending in an online, after a free-for-all between two illustrious Adamawa State Elites, is not in the interest of the state, especially when you consider the palpable cloud of acrimony formed over the State by the herdsmen versus farmers’ hostility. The elites, one a Fulani and the other a non-Fulani, are both […]

The cacophonous rejoinders trending in an online, after a free-for-all between two illustrious Adamawa State Elites, is not in the interest of the state, especially when you consider the palpable cloud of acrimony formed over the State by the herdsmen versus farmers’ hostility.

The elites, one a Fulani and the other a non-Fulani, are both highly educated. They went into overdrive and took to social media to grease the skids for their respective views against each other on an alleged allegation made against a tribe in the State. This can fuel communal violence -the same that the nation is trying to avoid.

This piece is not an attempt to shoot an arrow of blame on either of these great sons of our land, rather it is an attempt to remind my beloved elders that a man who eases himself in public without recourse to shame, gives cause to others to despise him.

Clearly, people are beginning to take sides, and from all indications, the ugly masquerade of tribalism is getting ready to take the political square come 2019. Such sentiments do not make provision for reconciliation talks. On the contrary, they inflame passion and erode the possibility of finding common ground. This is a worrisome and unacceptable trend I can best describe as an attempt to boil the ocean.

The truth is, we are rooted in a culture that unites in small groups to disunite each other. The beauty of democracy is seen when a community is given the opportunity to relate and work with people who are different from them. It will be foolish for us to continue in the war to cut the ground from under our feet. We can change and grow by challenging disadvantages and tackling inequalities. Indeed, this involves working on the relationships between ordinary people and people in positions of authority.

Above all, tribalism has been and will always remain the enemy of excellence as it is often used as a tool to enthrone incompetence in public service, and a means to evade justice after leaving a corrupt-filled term in office by many.

It is said that a bag that says it will not take more and a traditional doctor who says he would not leave anything behind are both sure to suffer. For a State like Adamawa, my state of origin, whose indigenes and communities are beginning to score goals from a democratic playbook, divergence or its appearance should be avoided at all cost.  

Though every aspect of its stream is not flawless and still struggles with performing a balancing act, democracy in Adamawa so far has a lot to show. Unlike very many States who masks their lack of progress in taking cheap shots at political enemies instead of focusing on what they were elected to do.

While I do not see reasons why anybody will wish to take a retrogressive stand in a time when we are witnessing results, I like to remind all that whatever excuses we are giving to justify what we do or fail to do today, as a people, we will have to leave with the consequences. As pointed out by Chinua Achebe: “The damage done in one year can sometimes take ten or twenty years to repair.”

The tendency to suspend reasoning will amount to sending the State on a backward march. This, we need to avoid like a plague. We need to get our ducks in a row and build bridges of reconciliation if we want our democracy to succeed. A farmer does not boast that he has had a good harvest until his stock of yams lasts till the following harvest season. As an elder statesman Chief Timawus Mathias, rightly said “…we should more importantly encourage Governor Bindow to continue to deliver on democracy dividends and leave who wins 2019 to God Almighty”  

However, “until lions have their own historians, accounts of hunting will always celebrate the hunter”.

David Dimas, Laurel, Maryland, United States, [email protected]