By Nimake Erlan
Guru community and environs in Bauchi metropolis is a sleepy town known for its serene environment and peaceful ambience located in the outskirt of the city. No wonder the Nigerian Army found it ideal to build one of its barracks in the community about 50 years ago. Many years after, it was shocking, therefore, to wake up to discover that the quiet communities surrounding the Shadawanka Army Barracks protested against the forceful eviction and confiscation of their houses, farmlands allegedly by the Bauchi Emirate Council and the Nigerian Army which the communities have been hosting for decades. When ThisNigeria visited the community leader of Rafin Sanyi, Malam Haladu Abubakar, who spoke on behalf of the five hamlet communities of Kundamu, Guru, Rafin Sanyi, Burum, and Magama, he alleged that he was made to sign a Memorandum of Understanding without knowing the content of the said MoU.
He alleged that in 2019, a Memorandum of Understanding was prepared by the Bauchi Emirate Council and some members of the community were out of illiteracy forced to sign the document which, unknown to them, was not made in good faith. “I was sleeping at home in 2019 when a visitor came knocking and informed me that he was sent with a letter for me to sign. I am not literate, I don’t know what the letter entails and I did not know what it was all about. When I saw that the village head, the district head, representative of the Emirate Council all signed, I thought it was for the good of my people. “Nobody told me anything they just said I should sign and I had no choice but to sign. It was later I found out it was ejection notice giving us one year to relocate.”
The communities, in a popular protest that comprised men and women carrying placards, chanting solidarity songs blocked Bauchi Jos road federal highway forcing travellers and commuters to be left stranded for several hours. The protest was to demand the return of their rights and privileges. Secretary of the Concerned People of Shadawanka Communities, Haliru Abdullahi, condemned the forceful ejection and blamed their district head, Hussaini Abubakar, for fuelling the crisis by asking the army to forcefully take over the land.
He said they held a series of meetings with him but he never supported their course, but rather called them slaves and asked them to move out as their forefathers have been compensated. “We had a series of meetings with him in his palace but he tells us our forefathers have been compensated and so we must leave. He has never shown us any proof of payment and our forbearers did not tell us any payments were made. “Many of our forefathers died with that bitterness of being compensated because our lands were among those to be compensated but were not. Those that were compensated had gone. Some places have not been compensated, some lands were not even measured.”
Abdullahi also said the Army was deliberate in grabbing their lands as there are individuals who have settled there and bought lands with the consent of the Emirate Council whose land was not touched except theirs. “The MoU that gave us one year to leave did not affect those that bought land in Guru. We learned that the Emirate Council begged on their behalf to be allowed to stay. Our grandfather gave one Shehu Wunti a piece of land free of charge, the fencing did not affect the said land. “It has confirmed to us that because we are poor peasants, our land is up for grabs without compensation while those with money are protected.”
Some protesters that spoke to reporters included a 25-year-old Habibu Abubakar, Aishatu Sani (54), and Hadiza Ahmadu (70), all of whom said they have been in their forefathers’ ancestral villages for over 150 years, and have been utilising the same for residential, grazing, farming, as their only means of livelihood.
They recalled that even during the military regime of General Yakubu Gowon (retd.) in the 1970s when Shadawanka Barracks was constructed, they lived there and the barracks were separated from the communities, but between 1982 to 1985 when Shadawanka was demarcated as Shadawanka Barracks and Obienu Barracks, the communities did not in any way form part of the two barracks. The communities alleged that in 2019 the MoU was prepared by the Bauchi Emirate Council and some members of the community were out of illiteracy forced to sign the document which, unknown to them, was not made in good faith.
It would be recalled that over the weekend, representatives of the Bauchi Emirate Council and that of the Shadawanka Barracks forcibly asked the communities to vacate the lands on the pretext that the Army wanted to fence its land for security reasons. “But as true citizens of Nigeria, the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) guarantees us the rights to ownership of lands, we may recall that few of the communities were paid compensation, others were not, so how can they wholesomely eject us from our lands”, they queried.
The communities further recalled that when the matter came up sometimes back, even the Nigerian Army found out that they did not pay these communities compensation when the Shadawanka Barracks was constructed in the 1970s.
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The communities, therefore, appealed to the Bauchi State Governor, Senator Bala Mohammed to intervene in the dispute and save them from the catastrophe of confiscating their means of livelihood under his watch. The communities which are in five settlements hosting the barracks, also stressed the need, as citizens of the state, to be treated with fairness, just and respect.
When contacted, a source at the Bauchi Emirate Council, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, “The issue has been lingering for quite some time. I recall when General Tukur Buratai was the Chief of Army Staff, there was a fracas between the Army and the communities”.
The communities then, the source said, took their complaint to the Bauchi Emirate Council which intervened and there was broker peace when the emirate reached Buratai who sought for amicable resolution on the issue, maintained status quo, and fencing was started in the non-disputed area. Buratai then, appealed for caution and understanding to avoid anything that will lead to the breakdown of law and order in the state.
A retired Brigadier General, Marcus Yake, said he intervened in the dispute by enlightening the community to understand that many of the people plying the road have nothing to do with the barracks or communities in dispute, and shouldn’t do anything that will lead to the destruction of lives and properties.
However, the intervention of Yake, who is the Security Adviser to the State Governor, convinced the protesters to open the road with a pledge that government and all stakeholders would meet to resolve the matter amicably within 24 hours.
Haladu, who is in his 80s, said their ancestral lands would not be easily conquered without adequate compensation. “This is our land, no matter the persecution we will not give it up easily. Our communities welcomed, accepted, and other tribes within Nigeria and beyond, even people we are not familiar with. What have we done wrong? Who did we offend by opening our doors to everyone that they want to forcefully eject us? We did not sell our lands, we are not compensated”.
“We are just peasant farmers and shepherds. We are peace-loving, in the almost 50 years of existence of Shadawanka Barracks, there was never any clash between us and them. There was never a record of insubordination or indiscipline from our children in the barracks. We are living peacefully with them, but it should not be taken as a weakness.”
