Bauchi State Governor, Senator Bala Mohammed’s decision to establish the Sayawa Chiefdom with its headquarters in Tafawa Balewa has continued to draw criticism from different quarters.
While the Zaar Youth Development Association, ZAYODA, commended the move as a step towards justice, equity, and peace, the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, NSCIA warned it could ignite ethno-religious conflicts.
Speaking at a press conference in Tafawa Balewa, ZAYODA National Assembly Leader, Gaallah Daniel, commended the governor and the Bauchi Emir for their roles in actualizing the chiefdom.
He described the initiative as a long-awaited aspiration of the Sayawa people and urged the governor to ignore what he termed “falsehoods and religious sentiments” opposing the move.
Daniel argued that the chiefdom would foster peace, unity, and development in education, healthcare, and infrastructure while preserving the cultural heritage of the Sayawa people.
The ZAYODA Leader said, “We will continue to maintain that peaceful relationship and we further assure Nigerians that Tafawa Balewa and Bogoro are home of peace and progress and we welcome all Nigerians without discrimination”
Giving a background history of the Sayawa chiefdom, he stated that the creation of Sayawa Chiefdom was recommended as far back as 1992 by Justice B.O, adding that the Babalakin Commission and the then Federal Military Government of Gen Babangida issued a white paper endorsing the recommendations directing the State Government to implement them.
“The recommendation was made before Bogoro LGA was created, so it implied that the Sayawa Chiefdom should be in Tafawa Balewa LGA since there was no Bogoro LGA back then,” the Zaar youth leader explained.
However, the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, NSCIA, rejected the decision to site the headquarters in Tafawa Balewa.
In a statement issued by its Secretary-General, Professor Is-haq Oloyede, the council described the move as unjust and a threat to peace.
Citing past ethno-religious conflicts in the area, the NSCIA argued that Bogoro, where the Sayawa are more predominant, would be a more appropriate location.
The council warned that the decision could destabilize the region and called on the governor to reconsider.
According to Oloyede, the NSCIA has confirmed that the longstanding crisis in Tafawa Balewa centers on the Sayawa Chiefdom, particularly the location of its headquarters.
He added that while the Bauchi Emirate Council and the Muslim community in Tafawa Balewa have agreed to the creation of the Chiefdom for the sake of peace, they oppose Tafawa Balewa as its headquarters, insisting on Bogoro instead.
Oloyede noted that successive state administrations, including Governor Isa Yuguda’s in 2014, recommended Bogoro as the Chiefdom’s headquarters.
However, the Sayawa people rejected the decision, insisting on Tafawa Balewa as the location.
‘Even the committee led by Ambassador Chinade, under Governor Bala Mohammed, did not support siting the headquarters in Tafawa Balewa.’’ he stated.
The Secretary-General further highlighted historical, moral, political, and demographic reasons for this stance.
His words “ Historically, the town was founded and named by the Fulanis and had existed for more than four centuries before the first Sayawa man settled in the town in the 1960s.
“Morally, after perpetrating a series of aggressions against Muslims and killing hundreds of them in the town, nobody in his right conscience would think of offering it to them as the headquarters of their chiefdom.
“Demographically and politically, the Sayawa people for whom the Chiefdom would be purportedly created are more predominant in Bogoro LGA than in Tafawa Balewa LGA, where they have only two wards out of sixteen, and Tafawa Balewa is located within a village area that is religiously and ethnically heterogeneous,” the NSCIA Secretary explained.
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