The people of Ngbo in Ohaukwu Local Government Area of Ebonyi State and their neighbouring Community, Agila in Ado Local Government Area of Benue State at the weekend, jointly took practical steps towards ending the age-long war that had claimed uncountable lives and destruction of properties worth billions of naira.
DAILY POST reports that the two communities decided to mend fences by clearing their link roads and simultaneously visiting each other, as a way to restore total peace, unity and order.
Recall that the Ngbo-Agila war started in 1921 following a dispute over a vast piece of land but all efforts by the governments at local, state and federal levels to reconcile the communities had failed.
Even past attempts by the National Boundary Commission to place a boundary and demarcate the land did not yield any meaningful results.
However, at the weekend, over one thousand Ngbo people visited Agilas in Ado Local Government Area of Benue State while the same number from Agila visited the Ngbo people in their land and were hosted at the ancestral home of Ngbo, Ekwashi playground.
The Ngbo people who visited Agila were led by the Secretary of the apex leadership in Ngbo, the Ngbo Leaders Council, Emmanuel Etu-Odo while the Agila people were led by their President General, Mr Oteokpa.
Addressing the Agila and Ngbo people at Ekwashi Ngbo playground during the visit, the Deputy Governor of Ebonyi State represented by the State Commissioner for Border, Peace and Conflict Resolution, Donatus Ilang applauded the two communities for accepting to end the war and embrace peace in line with the efforts of the government.
He said the Ebonyi State government is committed to ensuring that the nascent peace is sustained and would throw up programs and policies that would make it enduring.
Responding, the President General of Ngbo Leaders Council, Okeh C. Okeh and his Agila counterpart, Mr Peter Otseh Oteokpa assured that the achieved peace has come to stay.
He requested the government at all levels to, among other things, construct the road that links the communities, which they said would become the shortest route to the northern part of Nigeria if constructed.
In their remarks, Youth leaders of the two communities, including Michael Odo, Samuel Okpor and Kelechi Onyeoma from Ngbo, as well as Philip Ogazi and John Odey from Agila axis harped on the economic need of the achieved peace and vowed to sustain it.
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