The Adara people in Kaduna State have attributed the prolong years of crises in the area to their continuous opposition and resistance to promote Muslim, Fulani, Hausa and Northern interests at the expense of other ethnic nationalities.
They opined that the quest for the enforcement, sustenance, strengthening, consolidation, legitimization, institutionalization and perpetuation of Muslim, Fulani, Hausa domination were responsible for most of the crisis in the North and also Nigeria at large.
In a memorandum submitted by the Adara Development Association, ADA, to the Judicial Commission of Inquiry set up by the Kaduna state government on the crisis in Kachia, Kajuru, Chikun and surrounding communities, they observed, “It started in the pre-colonial era when Fulani Muslims embarked on a Jihad against smaller or weaker settlements and communities and it has continued until today. When the British colonized Northern Nigeria, they again formally imposed the Muslim Fulani ruling class on both conquered and unconquered communities for their own political expedience.
“This enabled the Muslim Fulani ruling class to have formal authority and total dominance over Northern Nigeria under the indirect rule system. The alliance of Fulani and Hausa Muslims has been using their privileged positions to promote Muslim, Fulani, Hausa and Northern interests at the expense of other ethnic nationalities.
“Therefore, it is the quest for the enforcement, sustenance, strengthening, consolidation, legitimization, institutionalization and perpetuation of that domination is responsible for most of the crisis in the North and also Nigeria at large.
“The situation has lead to continuous opposition and resistance by victims of the arrangement. But the Hausa/Fulani Muslim alliance and their collaborators are responding by more domination, discrimination, persecution, suppression, oppression and repression using religious, social, administrative, political, economic, educational and even violent strategies.
“The crisis, disturbances, violence and instability that has plagued Southern Kaduna and the Middle Belt Region in general is the direct consequence of quest for domination leading to resistance.”
As part of that opposition and resistance, the Adara people said, “We are here to strongly make the case that this vicious circle is unacceptable, inhuman, unbearable, unjustifiable, immoral, unconstitutional and no longer sustainable.”
The Adara people noted that the immediate causes of the crisis identified are the failure of Northern Governors, resistance to the burden of decades of domination, the impact of previous crises in other communities, the political and physical destruction of Adara nation, the mishandling of the first major attack on Adara community and government actions and inactions in general.
The Adara people submitted, “This Commission has been set up by a government under whose watch the Adara Nation has suffered its greatest setbacks and humiliation in post independence Nigeria presumably from non-state actors.
“The government has also taken the most insensitive and draconian political and administrative actions against Adara community immediately after very tragic incidents affected the people. The arrest and incarceration of Adara community leaders therefore seems to be a replay of what happened in 1992 after the Zangon Kataf market riots. Just as a Judicial Commission was set up to try and convict Atyap community leaders, the picture is also looking rather grim that government may want to use this Commission to do the same to Adara nation.
“Therefore, considering the antecedents of this government in relation to Adara community, we wish to call on the Commission and indeed the general public to be vigilant so as not to allow negative history to repeat itself.
“We doubt the sincerity and ultimate goal of government because several Commissions and Committees were set up and white papers released in the past few years all of which have not been used to adequately address worsening social problems.”
In what the people called total disregard to their will, the Kaduna state government subverting the electoral process.
They lamented, “In 2015 and 2018 sole administrators have been appointed by governor El-Rufai instead of elected local government councils. Elected Local Government chairmen have been violently prevented from taking office in Kajuru and unelected persons imposed by the governor against the wishes of the people.
“Money was mobilized by government appointees to subvert the of an Adara son in the heartland of Adara in Bishini District in favour of a half Fulani man who even failed to win in his own area during the 2019 House of Representatives elections in Kachia/Kagarko Federal Constituency. These leaders are totally unaccountable to the people and owe loyalty to and do the bidding of those who appointed them.
“The State and Local Government institutions are not accountable to the people of Chikun, Kachia, and Kajuru because they were not elected by them. They are used to trample upon the right of the law-abiding citizens.
“The security services have allowed the people of Chikun, Kaujuru and Kachia Local Governments to be killed, their villages destroyed and the people driven from their settlements. Complaints or reports of attacks or impending attacks have gone unacknowledged.
“Ungoverned Adara land, just like most other ethnic minority communities in Southern Kaduna have for long been crying of gross under-development. The complaints include lopsided and unfair distribution of socio-economic projects, infrastructure, facilities, services and opportunities.”
The Adara people further lamented, “Another grievance is the creation of very unfavorable administrative and political structures deliberately designed to further weaken already disadvantaged and marginalized social groups politically and economically while protecting special interests. This is what is done during the creation or boundary adjustments of states, local government areas, federal, state and local government constituencies, polling units and even Chiefdoms, Districts and Village areas.
“Adara land has been deliberately balkanized into two states, three senatorial districts, three federal constituencies, at least three state constituencies, about four Local Government Areas and most recently three Chiefdoms/Emirates where they have no control over the political process. By this arrangement Adara people have been so balkanized as to have little or no political and economic clout in almost all of them.”
The political and physical destruction of Adara nation in Kaduna state, according to them, is the immediate cause of the afflictions of Adara people.
They added, “The unilateral change of the name of Adara Chiefdom to Kachia Chiefdom, and of the title of Agom Adara to Agom Kachia, the drastic reduction of Districts and District Heads in Adara Chiefdom from twenty six to three and similar reduction of Village Areas and Village Heads. All these were done against the wishes and consent of the Adara people and implemented against the written protests and objections of the Adara Traditional Council and the people of Adara chiefdom.
“The scrapping of Adara Chiefdom, the partitioning of Adara land in Kaduna state into two, the purported creation of Kachia Chiefdom and placing of Adara land and people in Kajuru Local Government under Kajuru Emirate. These are unprecedented acts of injustice carried out against Adara nation for which the Adara nation and all people of conscience have rejected and still reject as unjust, vindictive and dictatorial.
“The abduction and eventual assassination of Agom Adara, Maiwada Galadima. This is most painful because Adara community was deceived by the Governor’s personal assurance to the wife of Agom Adara of his immediate release. Furthermore, there was also a deception by security authorities that a rescue operation was in the offing and a warning to Adara youth to stay clear of the bushes where Agom Adara was taken by the kidnappers. With the benefit of hind sight, it is now clear that Adara nation was tricked not to rescue their traditional ruler to facilitate his humiliation and eventual murder for sinister reasons that government has displayed by abrogating Adara Chiefdom immediately after the murder of Agom Adara III.”
The Adara people submitted that a major factor in the current unhealthy political environment in the country is the perceived pro-core Northern posture of the Federal Government.
“The often cited evidence is the lopsided appointments to public positions, especially sensitive ones, among other sensitive issues have led to insecurity in most parts of the country, ” the people alleged.
