Displaced Nasarawa Indigenes Seek Return To Ancestral Homes
Displaced natives of Bassa in Toto Local Government Area of Nasarawa State have sought the help of President Bola Tinubu to return to their ancestral homes.
According to the indigenes, they had left their ancestral homes since 2018 due to communal clashes.
The plea was contained in a Save our Soul letter by the president of the National Bassa Youth Development Association, Isaac Ndazhaga, addressed to Tinubu on Tuesday.
It partly read, “The Bassa people of Toto Local Government Area of Nasarawa State have been unjustly subjected to exile since April 2018 due to communal clashes, and immediate action must be taken to rectify this grave phenomenon.
“As history has it, the Bassa people have a rich cultural heritage deeply intertwined with the land they have inhabited for generations. Their ancestral home in Toto LGA holds great significance to them, not only as a physical place but also as a source of identity and historical connections.
“However, due to the circumstances beyond our control in the land, we were forced to leave our ancestral homes and livelihoods, resulting in immeasurable suffering and untold hardship. Our parents could no longer afford even the Education of their children due to the displacement.”
Ndazhaga also accused the Nasarawa government of doing nothing about their issue.
He said, “It is disheartening to note that despite the passage of over five years, the state government under the watch of H.E. Engr. A. A Sule has never for once shown adequate concern over the displaced Bassa people nor has he sent government representatives to see how these people are surviving or coping in the places of exile.
“Furthermore, the Speaker, Nasarawa State House of Assembly, who happens to be from Toto L.G.A has never for once moved a motion at the plenary of the State Assembly to end the prolonged exile for the return of the Bassa in her ancestral homes. Perhaps because it does not affect him and these always speak volumes of him to the public and the affected Bassa of him acting contrarily behind by influencing the state government not actualising the return of the Bassa back to their ancestral land.
“Another painful aspect of this ugly experience is during festivities, while other Nigerians and others around the globe celebrate in the comfort of their homes with their families and loved ones, the displaced persons will be mulling over their plights.”
He, however, urged the president to take drastic action to end the overdue exile.
