By Marie-Therese Nanlong

William Gyang and Nura Jibrin, two friends from Secondary school days came to the rescue of the society when the duo offered and repaired two broken down ventilators in the Jos University Teaching Hospital, JUTH for possible use in the case of any incident of the dreaded COVID-19 disease in Plateau State.

The duo met and became friends at Government Technical College, Bukuru in Jos South local government area of the State and have maintained that relationship despite the many ethno-religious conflicts that pitted their respective communities against each other.

The fact that Gyang is Christian and of the Berom tribe in the State and Nura is Muslim from the Hausa/Fulani stock made their friendship and show of societal love commendable as their action portrays how Plateau citizens, polarized along ethnic and religious lines could forget their differences and work together to achieve great things including the elusive peace in communities in the State.

Nura had said, “We are of different faith but that didn’t prevent us from coming together as one to do what is beneficial to all irrespective of any difference,” and Gyang added, “We are here to ensure that our service to humanity is a reality. People’s lives, worldwide and especially Nigerians are important to us and we shall continue to do more through other means. It is collective efforts that everyone should contribute to.”

Before they fixed the ventilators, the duo disclosed they had never heard nor seen a ventilator but as people with engineering background, they researched and came up with solutions which enabled them to repair the two broken down ventilators which have been confirmed to be useful by the CMD of JUTH, Professor Edward Banwat.

They fixed the machines at no cost to the hospital as they only wanted to “contribute and save lives,” as they said, “This is a humanitarian services that every Nigerian should offer. One can offer such services through different means. You must not be a doctor before you contribute. The disease doesn’t look at your ethnicity, age, region or religion.”

This is a lesson which herders and farmers in the State should learn and be one another’s keeper during this traumatizing period and even foster friendship by being there and sharing with one another.

Farmers, herders, traders and every one is feeling the scourge of the hardship imposed by the COVID-19 disease. This is no time to engage in destruction of farm produce and food barns, this is no time to sack communities nor engage in any form of violent conflicts as seen in the recent cases in the Irigwe Chiefdom of Bassa local government area of the State where women, children and aged have been killed and families rendered homeless.

Although violence should not be tolerated in our communities but the humanity in us should prevail at this time and all forms of hostilities ended so that families are not subjected to unnecessary hardship beyond what is thrust on them by the COVID-19 disease.

The recent happenings in Irigwe lands had seen the Paramount Chief of the Irigwe people, HRH Ronku Aka telling government at all levels to intervene because a greater threat than COVID-19 which he said is from “herdsmen” is facing his people stressing, “We are facing two monumental killers – killer herdsmen and coronavirus. We are asked to stay at home to be safe from coronavirus but we are still being killed by herdsmen. This makes us endangered species in every respect.”

READ ALSO: 5G, COVID-19 and history without end

A former Member of House of Representatives representing Bassa/Jos North federal constituency, Lumumbah Adeh added his voice, calling on the federal government and Governor Simon Lalong to intervene and ensure a stop to the killings as according to him, between January 1 and April 15, 2020, no less than 40 persons have been killed and eight injured in 19 separate attacks on 15 communities in the Chiefdom.

His words, “Apart from those that lost their lives and those wounded, the communities are still reeling in pains over the loss of valuable property which include 15 farms, 330 houses and other items valued at millions of naira like cars, food barns, water pumps, motor bikes etc as a result of these attacks. The recent killings and destruction of property it appears, is a continuation of the spate of attacks on the peace loving people of Irigwe chiefdom which started over the years as some of the villages affected by the recent attacks like Rikwe Chongu, Ancha and Nkiedonwro have been attacked repeatedly.”

Since the Fulani community in the area has denied any wrong doing as the Deputy Chairman of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, MACBAN in Bassa local government area, Ya’u Idris said his community knows nothing about the recurring incidences, the security agencies should do the needful by fishing out the perpetrators of the crimes and punishing them accordingly so that something worse than COVID-19 don’t consume the communities.

Vanguard