After years of dispute between various ethnic groups in Taraba State, finding a place where several groups coexist peacefully is a rarity. Zip is one of those places and our correspondent visited and spoke to its people who told him the secret behind their peaceful coexistence.
With recurring communal conflicts, it is now a miracle to find a community with different tribes living peacefully in Taraba State.
That, however, is what one finds in Zip, a town bordering River Benue and a thick forest leading into Yankari Games Reserve.
In this community, the Jukun Wanno, who engage in fishing, Fulani, who are busy with their cattle and the indigenous Burkani, who are predominantly farmers, have lived side by side in harmony for ages.
Access to the community from Jalingo, the state capital, is difficult because of bad roads linking the town. One can reach the community through Mutumbiyu, Kwatan Nanido and then cross the River Benue. Another option is through Lau, crossing the River Benue to Karim Lamido and then taking a motor cycle to the community.
However, both options are dangerous because of the rampant cases of kidnapping and other crimes along the bad road.
Zip, the main town, is surrounded by villages and a fishing settlement around Lake Sinkir.
While the Burkani tap from the river and the lake for both dry and wet season farming, the two water sources provide fertile resource for fishing and animal rearing for the Jukun and Fulani inhabitants, respectively.
This symbiotic relation has been going on for ages without any problem.
A farmer, Mallam Mohammed Shuaibu Tando, told DailyTrust that he and his colleagues have no problem living side by side with the Fulanis as they engage in cattle rearing.
He said there has always been good pasture and water for the herdsmen to feed their animals and, therefore, they always guard against destroying farms.
He said over the years, the Fulanis have been migrating into the area and there was never a time when there was a clash between farmers and the herdsmen.
“The main occupants of this area are the Burkani, the indigenous people, who are fishermen and farmers. The Jukun Wanno, who are mainly fishermen, and the Fulani herders. Both the Jukuns and Fulanis migrated from other places. But all of us live in harmony,” he said.
However, where misunderstandings arise, they have ways of dealing with them.
“It is not that we do not have misunderstanding, but it is always resolved through dialogue,” Tando said.
A young Fulani man found close to a rice farm, Sale Alhaji Baushe, told Daily Trust that there has always been good understanding between the three groups of people in the area.
He said all the Fulani herdsmen in the area are law abiding. “They don’t intentionally destroy crops, which is always a source of crisis between farmers and herdsmen,” he said.
He said the Fulanis have made this area their home for over 60 years now and collectively guard against anything that would cause trouble in the community.
“We found both the Burkani and Jukun Wanno as well as other tribes friendly and, therefore, we live as members of the same family,” Baushe said.
A Jukun Wanno fisherman, Mr Bulus Agbu, echued the same words about their peaceful coexistence.
He said the vast land with grass for animals to feed, and the many rivers and lakes for fishermen to fish and the fertile land for farmers to grow crops, ensure all the groups have what they need without encroaching into each other’s food sources.
Without a single police post in the area, all disputes are resolved by elders.
The Village Head of Zip, Mallam Tukur Saidu said the area enjoy’s peace as all the tribes coexist peacefully and all groups stay within their limits.
“Herdsmen don’t destroy farms and nobody touches fishing materials as is the case in other places.
“We meet regularly and discuss issues of common interest among us,” the village head said.
“We know ourselves and, therefore, it is easy to fish out criminals in our midst,” he said.
Mallam Tukur Saidu said there were no cases of kidnapping, armed robbery or cattle rustling in the area.
The Chief of Old Muri, which oversees Zip, Alhaji Abdullahi Ciroma, explained that Zip area is enjoying peace because of the good understanding among the three groups living in the area.
He said he encouraged the people to live in peace adding that they always hold security meetings, which are attended by all leaders of the tribes.
While the features of Zip and the abundance of resources might have played a crucial role in the peaceful coexistence of the various groups, the determination of the people to uphold the peace cannot be overemphasized. Sadly, the same cannot be said about other places.
