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Peace Advocate Shedrach Writes Governor Bassey Otu, Urges Action on Communal Clashes




An Open Letter to the Executive Governor of Cross River State, Senator Prince Bassey Edet Otu.

An Open Letter to His Excellency, Senator Prince Bassey Edet Otu
The Executive Governor of Cross River State,
Government House, Calabar.

Your Excellency,
Re: A Cry for Peace—An Urgent Call to End Incessant Communal Clashes and Foster Lasting Stability in Cross River State

I write to you today not just as a citizen of Cross River State, but as a deeply concerned humanitarian and peace advocate who shares your vision for a prosperous, reinvented Cross River State. We all applauded your "People First" agenda, recognizing it as a beacon of hope. However, Your Excellency, the bitter truth is that no meaningful development can survive in an environment fractured by violence.


While your administration makes strides in urban renewal and economic repositioning, a bleeding wound festers across our rural communities. The incessant, bloody communal clashes over land boundaries and heritage have become an existential threat to the peace, security, and future of our beloved state.

Echoes from the Past: A Grim History of Blood and Fire (1999–Present)
To understand the gravity of our current reality, we must look back. Since the dawn of the Fourth Republic in 1999, Cross River State—historically famed as a haven of tourism and tranquility—has been periodically scarred by fratricidal wars.
The Inyimagu/Agila Crises: A cross-border and intra-community nightmare that has spanned decades, turning fertile agrarian lands into ghost towns.


The Adadama (Abi LGA) and Amagu (Ikwo LGA, Ebonyi State) Conflict: A perennial border war that has claimed hundreds of lives, leaving women widowed and children orphaned.


The Nko and Onyadama War (Obubra/Mkpani axis): A conflict so severe that it previously triggered heavy military interventions, leaving a trail of destruction, displacement, and deep-seated animosity.


The Boki and Obudu Communal Clashes: Where brother turned against brother over forest resources and farm boundaries, stalling local economies.


The Wanikade and Wanihem Crises (Yala LGA): A devastating clash that resulted in the displacement of over 14,000 people in a single wave of violence, completely wiping out basic infrastructure.
From the southern rivers to the northern hills, the story remains painfully the same: valuable lives cut short, ancestral homes leveled, and a legacy of bitter hatred passed down to the next generation.

The True Cost of Conflict: Statistics and Economic Setbacks
Your Excellency, the human and economic statistics of these conflicts paint a harrowing picture of artificial underdevelopment.
The Toll of Communal Clashes in Cross River State:
Loss of Human Capital: Since 1999, an estimated 3,500 to 5,000 lives have been lost directly to communal warfare, many of them vibrant young men and women who represented the economic future of the state.


Internal Displacement: Over 50,000 Cross Riverians have been displaced at various times, turning proud farmers and traders into refugees (IDPs) in their own land.


Agricultural Paralysis: Cross River loses billions of Naira annually in agricultural revenue. Local governments like Yala, Boki, Abi, Yakurr and Obubra—which should be the food baskets of the South-South—are bogged down by insecurity. Cash crops like cocoa, palm oil, and yams rot away, or the lands are outright abandoned.


Drain on State Coffers: Security votes and emergency relief interventions consume billions of Naira that could otherwise fund world-class healthcare, qualitative education, and rural electrification.
The setbacks are monumental. We cannot attract foreign direct investment, nor can we fully realize our tourism potential when the headlines about our communities speak of machetes, guns, and burning villages. Peace is the ultimate infrastructure upon which all other development rests.

A Path Forward: Proposing the Cross River State Peace Initiative (CRSPI)
Reactive measures—such as deploying security agencies after blood has already been spilled—have proven to be mere temporary band-aids. Cross River State needs a structural, proactive, and deeply institutionalized framework for peace.
I passionately propose the establishment of the Cross River State Peace Initiative
(CRSPI). This will not be an ad-hoc committee, but a statutory, permanent agency backed by legislation.
The Composition of the CRSPI Council:
To ensure absolute neutrality, administrative weight, and grassroots enforcement, the agency should comprise:


Chairman: A reputable, retired Chief Judge of the State (bringing legal wisdom and absolute neutrality).
Co-Chairman: The Deputy Governor of Cross River State (ensuring a direct, high-level link to the Executive arm).
Members:
All Paramount Rulers from the 18 Local Government Areas.
The Chief Judge of the State.
The State Commissioner of Police.
The Chief Security Officer (CSO) to the Governor.
The Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs.
The State Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).
The State Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).
Notable State Civil Society Organizations (CSOs).
The Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN).
The State Commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).
The State Director of the Department of State Services (DSS).


Decentralization and Legal Backing:
LG Replication: To be effective, the CRSPI must be duplicated across all 18 Local Government Areas. The Local Government Chairman will head the council at the local level, working with traditional rulers and local security chiefs to nip land disputes in the bud before they escalate.


Legislative Mandate: This framework should be forwarded as an Executive Bill to the Cross River State House of Assembly to be passed into law. This ensures continuity, proper budgetary allocation, and legal powers to arbitrate, mediate, and enforce peace pacts.

Conclusion: A Legacy of Peace
Your Excellency, your name can go down in history not just as a governor who built roads, but as the Father of Modern Peace in Cross River State. By institutionalizing peace, you will heal old wounds, unlock our agricultural potential, and protect the lives of those who voted you into office.
The blood crying out from our borderlands begs for a permanent solution. The time to act is now.

Yours faithfully for the pursuit of peace,

Pastor Shedrach Eteng Oka
Humanitarian and Peace Advocate
Center for Family Peace
Head office · Abuja.
Block 54, Flat 4,
OAU Quarters Kashim Ibrahim Way,
Maitama District, Federal Capital Territory.
Shedyoka@gmail.com
08133977651

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