WHAT could have been another bloody clash between the Yoruba and the Hausa people in the Southwestern part of the country, was, at the weekend, averted at Onipe, a village in Oluyole Local Government Area of Oyo State.
Sunday Tribune gathered from one of the villagers, who craved anonymity, that it took the intervention of a veteran journalist and aide to former governor of Oyo State, Alhaji Lam Adesina, Mr Kehinde Olaosebikan, as well as the men of the Nigeria Police to forestall more trouble as a result of a fight that ensued between two young men over N200.
The source told Sunday Tribune that the Yoruba man had an upper hand during the fight, which led to some injuries on the Hausa man.
This, he said, prompted the head of Hausa community at Onipe, Garuba Umaru Dongodaji, to involve the police in the matter.
He alleged that Dongodaji, insisted on bringing the police despite pleas from the Baale of Onipe community to resolve the matter amicably.
The Hausa leader was said to have come with a team of policemen led by one ASP Muhammed Baba and got some Yoruba youths in the community arrested.
The youths, who bundled into a police van, reportedly said to resisted and it was at this point, according to the source, that Olaosebikan, who the source said had come to the village on one of his regular visits, being an indigene of the community, waded in.
He pleaded for calm from the youths and urged the police team to allow the matter to be resolved at the Baale’s palace.
When Sunday Tribune visited Onipe on Saturday, the Baale, Samuel Adebayo Opaleye said: “I was not there, when the incident occurred, but according to the information I got, it was a case of two people fighting and we wanted to settle it amicably before we saw the police arresting our children.”
“The matter was later resolved and we were invited by the Divisonal Police Officer in charge of our community and we pledged our commitment to ensure there is peace and stability in the community, most especially between the two ethnic groups.
The Seriki Hausa, Dongodaji, while speaking with Sunday Tribune, said he never boasted that Nigeria belonged to the Hausas, saying: “I only involved the police in the matter to avoid the matter escalating. We all know what happened in Ile-Ife recently, I do not want such to happen here and that was the reason for my action. But now, the issue has been put to rest and we are now living in peace with one another.”
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