War Looms In Hon. Awudu Mbaya’s Njap Village

The peace that thus far reigned in Njap, the village of Hon Awudu Mbaya, SDF Mp for Nkambe Central Sub Division in Donga Mantung Division now hangs on the scale. This is so following the murder in cold blood of the sub chief of Ngong, Fai Ndingansi III who was shot to dead by unidentified assassins some months back and their motive masked in mystery until recent developments. The chief of  Kamine, a village in Misaje Sub Division has now come out clear to claim the land of Ngong simply because  he knows the Sub Chief of Ngong, a quarter under Njap village has been assassinated  and silenced.

          Tension in brewing in Njap village as the people including the Fon this reporter contacted have vowed not to cede an inch of their territory for whatever reason. According to a petition written in response to a letter address to him by the DO for Donga Mantung declaring Ngong a disputed area, the Fon Of Njap says, “ …if we do not put an end to this, then we are building a time bomb.” The Fon in this petition provide historical, cultural and political reasons which reasonably and unequivocally justifies that Ngong is Njap and that the several gruesome killings in Ngong might have been well thought up and executed with little or no severe action taken by the administration against the perpetrators.

          The administration of Nkambe has and is not helping out matters. They have rather been   fiddling and pulling the string from hidden ends. The SDO for Nkambe instead of stepping in to put order since he is the administrator and definitely knows where the Ngong Sub chief had been paying allegiance has rather issued a query letter to the Fon of Njap. The query gives the Fon an ultimatum of 48 hours to respond and give reasons for disrespecting authority and disregarding his person. The query letter which carries ref. no 156 provocatively reads, “Can you explain in 48h why very serious disciplinary action should not be taken against you.” This letter has been viewed by many as an indication of complicity and an attempt to foment trouble by the administration.

          Uncertainty now reigns in the area.  The brewing tension is causing a lot of suspicion amongst the population. The people of both camps are girding their loins for a show down if the authorities Donga Mantung do not set the records straight in due cause.

          Most local administrative officials especially of the North West region have been accused of protracting land dispute in order to milk out the few francs left in the pockets of the poor villagers.

           The Fon of Njap and his people have decided to petition the SDO for Donga Mantung Division to uplift the ban on the traditional mourning of the assassinated sub chief and  to forbid the pouring of libation in that area by the chief of Kamine. According to them, they are law abiding and want justice to be done and with rapidity because all evidence demonstrating the disputed area as part of Njap are so glaring. “It is not because there is no accessibility to the area from Njap village but through kamine that makes the area Kamine. If that were to be the case, then Akwaya, Fura awa and Bakassi would have remained Nigeria,” the Fon said. As of Now, Hon. Awudu Mbaya, bona fide elite of Njap has not yet made any observation on the tussle.