This was published in Daily Trust Newspaper of Friday 14 October 2011
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I never told anyone, friends or relatives except my wife and a friend that I was scheduled to travel to Jos, Plateau State - that was last August. My reason was simply; it becomes a little complicated these days to tell beloved once “you, as a stranger to Plateau State” that you are passing through, not to talk telling them that your mission was to spend nights in Jos, just because of the unfortunate unending crises in the state.
I had feelings that I was going to danger zone. With this mix of feelings, one was hope that I could get an exclusive story from the victims of the crises and second was the fear of uncertainties; I realized that I needed endless and uninterrupted prayers from all angles lefts, rights, up, down and centre. I then started sending prayer request text messages to many friends and relatives, that “I need your prayers; I am on my way to Jos.”
As if I was testing how important or otherwise I was before my friends and families, that text messages instantly generated series of verbal and text messages responses. Some of those I could remember were advising me to watch my back saying “please be extremely, very careful” one of them even shouted “Why?”But after I explained to him why I was going he said if he was me he will never go, then he prayed reluctantly.
My uncle, Yakubu Baba, replied reads “OK, Allah ya kiyaye [May God protect you]. Be very cautious and alert. Avoid trouble areas … and stay at a well secured Hotel no matter how expensive it is. Remember your life is more important than the Money. When will you come back?” he asked, before I replied to him we heard breaking news that “we will not spend night in Jos, we will finish and proceed to Bauchi” so when I replied him, the sense of relief was visible in his last five words text “OK! Hakan ma ya fi. [that will be better]”
With all these uncertainties, I never know the trip would be worth it and my phobia would be compensating with a simple visit to Lere town in Tafawa Balewa Local Government, Bauchi State, where some of the displaced persons in the neighboring States resettled and how they were received by the Emir of Lere.
When we entered the first entrance of the Emir of Lere’s palace, I saw no sign of wealth, which convinced me it was an Emir’s palace. But despite the non visibility of wealth the palace has moral capacity and capability of accommodating not only its own people but even displaced persons who were searching for a new place to settle and probably call home.
The palace at first glance was a little far away from other palaces of its kind; this in term of visibility and traditional security guards that will attract the eyes. It looks just like an ordinary old Hausa family house.
Small chairs were casually and independently arranged, I think they were up to twenty. “How was small Chairs at the Emir’s palace, was it for children, are we not in a classroom?” But I decided to ignore my journalistic curiosity in my mind because of a little knowledge I had on how Fadawa respond to many situations with stick not with Carrot, and this question may fall not to their liking. So it could be one that will invite the stick, as such, I decided to let it go and not take a risk.
With all these I notice the signs of peace visibly all over the faces of people living there, both the settlers and the real indigenous of the area though I could not identified first from the latter.
Struggling with unanswered question we passed through the compound “tsakargida”, which linked up the first entrance into the main palace and another question flashed in my mind “where was the Emir? So we have to wait for him to come, but for how long?” not knowing he was sitting few miters away from me.
However, from one corner of the palace an elderly man was busy directing but his action was more like advising people on where to stay. Gently and politely he was saying while pointing at some places in the palace “Please, allow women to come in, please move closer so that they could have place to sit-down.” He retired back and sat down on a concrete structure-like; which is called in Hausa Dakali constructed with brown tiles and a small carpet was placed on to covered some part of the concrete.
Still to me it was preparations for the Emir’s arrival that must be in royal closes and covered his head with turban and there must be Zagi or Dogari (escort) by his side. Without waiting for the Emir, as I was thinking someone a respective man stood up and welcomed the Federal Government delegations led by the Director General, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Muhammad Sani Sidi, who were there to assess the conditions of displaced persons in the town.
Oh! The Emir was not around but he had a good representative, but I think even the reprehensive needed to cover his head have turban, still I did not asked.
The speaker proceeded with introducing the same person without turban, the same person who was showing people where to sit-down as Alhaji Aliyu Bawa and the Emir of Lere town on the age of the Concrete made sittings. I was a little bit shocked, not knowing that another surprise was on its way from the Emir’s actions on how he received displaced persons in his area.
What surprised everyone at that time was how the Emir received the displaced people who trooped in to his town from neighbouring states following the crises.
He technically, did not wait for Bauchi State or Tabawa Balewa Local Government’s interventions in creating camp, or build Houses for those people. He went ahead and browed what people of Madinah did when they warmly received Prophet Muhammad 1432years ago, when the prophet migrated from Mecca to them.
The Emir of Lere summoned the elders in the town and they share those people and accommodated them in their homes and he also invited some of them to live with him in his House as explained by the permanent secretary Bauchi State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Alhaji Muhammad Garba and confirmed by the settlers’ leader Ibrahim Mubi saying “assigned those people among his people to hosted them in their Houses and he hosted some of them inside his own house.” This solved the problem of accommodations for the displaced persons.
On how those displaced persons will own a living to live a normal live and forget the past the Emir immediately give each one a plot of land for farming.
The Emir does not give out the land neither as leases nor does he asked or expects any compensation from government, as he knows where the reward will come not really even from those people he helped but from almighty Allah.
This quickly reminded with what I also sow on the traditional roofing at the first entrance before the Emir’s main palace, there were nest all over the roofing, which to me translate that even Birds were accommodated at Emir’s palace.
The Emir of Lere’s action is a reminder to all Muslims and even non Muslim who read about how Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was received when he Migrated “Hijrah” from Mecca to Median. Madinah people at that time accepted him and his Sahabah (companions) and give the Sahab plot of lands for farming and accommodated them in their respective various Homes like what happened to those people who find themselves in Lere town.
Beyond my wildest dream, when the Emir speaks just asked for upgrading some schools and hospital in the area.
His intention was not to ask government, personally, I expected that he will make a huge request, which NEMA could only make promise; he rather said “We are now one family, you can hardly differentiate between us and our guest. I think this year they will even stand on their toes because they are into farming and what we harvested this year could be exported to the Southern part of this country.”
“The little problem we have is we need government to upgrade our schools and hospitals, because we do not want a situation whereby our patients have to travel all the way to Jos for medical attentions, considering the security challenges in the state now.” He requested.
To my knowledge I can say NEMA DG, Muhammad Sani Sidi was short of words as when it was his turn to make his address he just stated his reasons for the visit and called for those people to live in peace that “it was God who chooses that you will live together”.
However, as a lay-man in terms of government agency’s spending, I can jump to the conclusion that by mire of looking into the NEMA’s entourage during the visit its budge for that two-days trip to both Plateau and Bauchi States if could be given to Lere Town I think it will make a great impact in their hospital and even schools. Just lay-man speaking.
The challenge now is before the Federal Government to find a lasting solution to the crises which forces those people out of their places of birth. Though it failed to do in the last 10 years, despite receiving and probably reading the Executive Summaries of the crises, as such, all the reports needs an Executive Actions as it was not made be kept in an Executive Archives’ shelves for an Executive References.
Abdulkadir Badsha Mukhtar
