When I hear that Kwande politicians are scheming, planning and bragging on how to outwit one another, violence wise, in the coming polls, I seat and remember my University Years, especially the year 2004.
In 2004, I was what the Americans call a sophomore, a year two student- I had a serious course outline: His205, “Introduction to Archeology”, His 207 “History of the USA to 1865” His 211, “Major world civilizations’” etc. those courses demanded care and no distraction so I fought and avoided the normal university distractions (you know), but my distraction at this level was to come from a different angle…
As usual, I had sent home for money and food. In those days of no GSM, we wrote letters and sent verbal messages through London Line and later Pleasure Travels. So after one of my lecturers, late Sylvester O‘Tserekaa has finished confusing me about Amerigo Vespuchi’s Voyages to continental America in a His 207 lecture , I went to the motor part to receive garri. Rather than got garri as I have expected, I was told to my dismay that there was commotion in Adikpo, that a militia was let loose at Kwande people, so I could not get anything. I was confused because as some one studying the Vietam war and revolutionary uprising in the Middle East and other African countries, I thought the word “militia” was too sophisticated to be used in an Adikpo context. The rate at which that word was magnified in my mind, I wondered why it would be used in a Kwande environment. Yet, it came to be true.
Kwande had decided to attach kwande and old ways of doing it, “blackmail”, “little skirmishes”, “tyre burning”had become obsolete. Guns had to be used, terror was unleashed, people died, houses were burnt, people ran, girls were raped but the most significant of these activities, the climax of these senseless activities was the brutal murder of Mallam Gwaza Bur (1924-2004).
The death of Gwaza Bur and how its relate to the 2004 crisis, to me, is in the fact that the old man was not a politician and was generally known for peace. It was unlikely that somebody with a track record of integrity and self discipline to become a victim of brutal murder. If there was any reward for a life well spent for a man like elder Bur then, it was “he died after a brief illness or in his sleep”. But never; a newly trained and equipped militia under alcoholic stupor, did not realize this, so they killed him.
And that was why every body knew that, the death of Bur was sacrificial. He forfeited a “peaceful death”, which should his lot for "a brutal one” to pacify the then heated kwande. And I suppose such a sacrifice can not be or should not be for only seven (7) years (2004-2011). When the writer of the Hebrew account spoke about Christ dying for the church undergoing persecution, he said Christ died “once” and paid the prize. In the kwande context, Elder Bur’s death could be viewed from this biblical allusion with all its implications.
So why go back to crisis? Yes, Kwande is gradually relapsing, but I know, if the full blown crises comes, Bur’s ghost will come for Vendetta (purely a Tiv Cosmological issue) I am not talking of a “dablelike” appearance to haunt us but his blood shall call God to curse kwande (a purely Christian concept; cf; Cain/Abel, Genesis)
Here we are; we must take precautionary measures to avoid that, if not for the beautiful reasons made public by CWO President, Mrs Judith Yende, when she led women in a demonstration round town, but for the sake of mallam Gwaza Bur’ vendetta.
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