Fr. David Fomanka" <dnkong@yahoo. com> wrote:
To: BIROCOL@yahoogroups .com
From: "Fr. David Fomanka"
<dnkong@yahoo. com>
Date: Mon, 28 Jan 2008 09:54:34 -0000
Subject: [BIROCOL] The Akwaya Crisis Eye witness
AKWAYA
AT WAR: ANOTHER BAKASSI?
On Monday 31st
December, Akwaya rose from celebrating the Feast of
the Holy Family of Nazareth, to the reception of fugitives from what they at
the time describes as a situation of unrest due to an intertribal skirmish. Old
mothers on stretchers, newborn babes carried by grannies moving with staffs,
sick people and the very vulnerable all poured into Akwaya
from nearby Oliti villages, from the North, the
South, the East and the West. Bad news ran faster than good news and chaos
began its reign. As we watched the stories unfold.
At the face value it
was Tyoban Felix, said to be an ex-convict, who shot
and killed Ondafi Linus
over the felling of Palm for tapping. The victim is said to have purchased that
piece of land from one who sold it out illegally. The rightful owners preferred
to eliminate Linus rather than talk it out with the
fake land owner. The death of Linus immediately
provoked Nicodemus Oyavho, Linus'
father, whose reaction was a quick revenge, slaying to death Felix's brother, Tyoban Joseph, who found himself at the scene. Since the
issue is more than just the tapping of Palm wine, the chain reaction began.
It is said, "two pistol shots fired at
Rumours begot fear and fear
has produced what we now know as the Oliti-Yive war.
There were allegations that several Yives have been
taken hostage by the Olitis and most of the Yives have fled to
No one respects the
rules of the game. Remarkably, almost all the religious leaders have left in an
attempt to move their families because hunger is already looming. Food does not
come into Akwaya. A market that would take more than
3,000 persons every Saturday saw only twenty people. The traditional
slaughtering of cattle every Saturday morning failed to take place this time.
There is beginning to be the need for emergency supplies and a special care for
the sick and vulnerable is needed.
On Monday Morning, exactly
one week after the incident, the Administration and several others smuggled
their families out for fear of being attacked. Several schools have failed to
resume. Most of the Teachers are scared and students who left for holidays
cannot come back after news got them that their friends were harassed.
There is arbitrary searching of persons and looting of foodstuff. The young and
energetic ones stay all night in the forest waiting to see who would dare cross
the battle line. Between Okerika and Yive there are gun shuts after gun shuts.
Uncertainty looms. The
reaction of the Government was very slow and uncertain. Seven gendarmes were
released to come to the scene only on condition that the Mayor takes care of
their feeding and other such logistics. A great number of persons have
fled into neighbouring
While away from the
scene, the politicians and administration are throwing words at one another,
talking about the one wanting the blood of the other and the other trying to
eliminate the one.
On 10th
January 2008 , delegation took the bull by the horn
and went to the battle ground in an attempt to forge peace. Striking
revelations were discovered. A man, whose name had been given as Oya John, had been beheaded and his carcass abandoned in
the open, in a village called Agongolo. It is alleged
that the head has been taken with a lot of others, more than seven, to a shrine
at Ngali, known as Iningili.
This information is yet to be verified. There is a need for a thorough
search to be conducted in the dense forest by a contingent of forces, to
establish if the polluted atmosphere we found was the result of corpse
abandoned as that of John, or merely the bodies of slain animals left to
decompose. Indeed, a Nigerian paper reported the death of more than 10 persons
on the first day. Rumours had the number at 7,
excluding the three corpses that serve as clear evidence.
More than 12 villages
have been destroyed including about 200 homes set ablaze. Close to 10,000
persons have been displaced and rendered homeless. The destruction is massive.
The reaction of the authorities is yet to be seen as seriously geared towards
the interest of the citizens. Recently about 30 gendarmes were added to the 7
only after a report was presented and some pictures I took to the Senior
Divisional Officer of Manyu
provoked a great concern. The magnitude was under-estimated.
Akwaya's contested Paramount
Chief, His Royal Highness, the Honorable Justice Ayah Ayah
Paul, Member of Parliament, is absent from the scene, yet it is said he is kept
up to date. Many allegations point to him as the one giving instructions at the
background on how to extinct the neighbouring tribe.
These allegations too need to be verified, to avoid tarnishing his image or
taking him for a saint when he may not be one.
After the visit of the
team of 9 gendarmes, 2 policemen, the Sub-Prefect, the Mayor, the Parish Priest
of Akwaya, the Pastor of the
More than two hundred
young men all armed with rifles purchased bullets and stormed Ekambejolo and Yive central, the
only two settlements of the Yives, and drove them
into
It will take several
months for the people to return, and food shortage this year will be acute,
given that farms will not be cultivated in such an atmosphere. The peace team
had cautioned the tribes regarding the use of the name of a neighbouring
country, as this may spark an international conflict.
This Akwaya crisis is still young and beginning. As at now,
there is hope that the intervention initiative now stepped up would carry out a
thorough investigation and a disarmament programme A genuine dialogue that would put an end to that land
dispute will go a long way to remedy the situation. A true spirit of
forgiveness and reconciliation will spice the initiative for lasting peace.
Until then, life will never be normal again in Akwaya.
We pray that the Lord
may restore peace to this beloved area of the Diocese of Mamfe.
Fr. David Fomanka
"FR. DAVID
FOMANKA" <dnkong@yahoo. com> wrote:
Date: Wed, 30 Jan 2008
03:48:56 -0800 (PST)
From: "FR. DAVID FOMANKA" <dnkong@yahoo.
com>
Subject: Re: Fwd: [BIROCOL] The Akwaya Crisis Eye
witness
To: Asuagbor <ojongasuagbor@
yahoo.com>
Dear Mr. Asuagbor,
I am very glad to read your forward message.
Indeed, you thing correctly. Akwaya needs much
assistance now. It needs to be given at the level of food aid, at the level of
rehabilitation, at the level of medical assistance, at the level of care for
the aged and above all at the level of education. The many children sitting at
home can be taken into the Catholic school which is the only school that is
going on with teaching. However, we are sure that the parents will not pay
their fees this time.
Thank God the government has reacted with 35
new gendarmes sent to reinforce the 7 sent before and there is hope that the
continued unrest will subside and make way for peaceful negotiation.
But we need much assistance. What frightened
me most was the inability to communicate to anyone out of Akwaya
in good time to avoid the worst.
Wishing you the best
and Hope to hear from you. Any reaction may be channeled through the
Bishop's house Mamfe via the Mill Hill House in
God bless you.
Fr. David Fomanka
Holy is God, Holy and Strong, Holy Immortal One, Have
mercy on us.
FR. NKONG DAVID
FOMANKA
CATHOLIC
P0
MANYU DIVISION,
SWP
Tel: +237 7559 2982/ +237 96295756
"Fr. David Fomanka" <dnkong@yahoo. com> wrote:
To: BIROCOL@yahoogroups .com
From: "Fr. David Fomanka"
<dnkong@yahoo. com>
Date: Sat, 09 Feb 2008 11:22:10 -0000
Subject: [BIROCOL] Akwaya Updates
Since the last reports about Akwaya, the Bishop of Mamfe and
the
parish priest of Akwaya consulted the Divisional
Officer of Mamfe
with a VCD that told the story life. The immediate reaction was the
consultation of the security chiefs of Mamfe. Soon
the Prime
Minister, Justice Ayah and the Governor were put on the alert. The
following day, a group of 30 gendarmes, went to join
the 7 already
there and the number is now close to 40. The arrival of the second
group also brought with it the other side of the matter. Torture
took the upper hand. We visited two persons in the
Seeing that that was not the solution, the Gendarmes are now calmer
and diplomacy is being given a chance. However, since the Yives
operate as terrorists, it is not clear how the matter would be
resolved since there is still plenty of burnings. Three days ago, it
was an incident of shooting that severely wounded a child of about 2
years and the mother. The bullets are removed by a traditional
doctor somewhere at Ngali. Some people have been
arrested for
inqiries.
On the diplomatic side, the Chief of Yive was
contacted via the
Chief of Ituav tribe of
refuge.
The chief's condition was to have the peace talks in a neutral
ground, which he identified to be Enjawbaw, one of
the villages of
Northern Akwaya made of the Tivs,
who are supposed to be related to
the Yives, but who are also kind towards the Olitis, giving them
land enough to settle.
The meeting will take place sometime this week and may involve both
the political, religious and traditional authorities. It shall be a
7 hours trek from Akwaya main station.
Meantime, there is still plenty of fear and unrest. People run away
from their villages everyday prompted by some
unverified rumour.
Difficulty of communication still looms. No one knowns what is going
to happen next. We leave all in the hands of God and keep on praying
in hope for peace and reconciliation.
What also remains to be done is some formal recognition of the
sufferings of these people so that medical as well as food supplies
could reach them. I was so taken aback when the Saint Vincent de
Paul members tried to share out 8 bags of rice from Fiango,
Eyumojock and Mamfe
Parishes, to an unending crowd of hungry people
coming with buckets and dishes. It can hardly be enough.
People need to show more commitment though.
God bless you.