In the aftermath of the recently concluded PYC elections at the local and state levels, I have watched with utter dismay, the level of animosity displayed by different actors in the struggle, which negates and threatens the essence of unity of purpose among youths, particularly in KANAM LGA.

Different actors advocated different primordial sentiments why they should be considered for various positions they aspired for. Paramount among those sentiments propagated were the call for religious or ethnic considerations in the choice of our youth leaders.

While we appreciate God for making us who we are, He owes us no explanation why He created some of us as Badawa, others as Kantana, Garga, Khimpi, Tankwal and Kim-Bogghom, (Gogghom and Jahr) all cohabiting one LGA known as KANAM.

We don’t have any other land to call ours other than Kanam, and the onus is on us to galvanize our seeming diversity as the bond of our unity for the overall development of the land, Plateau State and Nigeria as a whole.

Religiosity should not divide us either.

This is because most of us practice the religion we were born into, and not as our personal or individual choices. We grow to see our parents being Muslims, Christians or Pagans and we take after them believing in the faith they profess, with a very few exceptions who decided on their own accord to convert to one religion or the other.

I see it as an act of ignorance of the highest degree to discriminate against our kith and kin on the basis of our religious differences.

If God had wanted all of us to be Christians or Muslims or even Pagans, he has the power to create us in that light. But He allows us to practice different religions in order to view His awesomeness from different perspectives of our peculiar religious beliefs.

Our religious faiths should be our personal way of communing with our creator, and should not be a yardstick for our personal interaction with one another.

It is no gainsay that there are very bad Muslims as much as there are very bad Christians and the other way round too. Therefore, if we will relate with one another based on individualities, rather than on the religion we profess, Kanam, nay Plateau and Nigeria will be the best for it.

My decision to write on the need for all Kanamites to unite despite our ethnic and religious differences is premised on the needless backwardness our land is subjected to due to our unnecessary prioritizing of religious and ethnic considerations in our dealings, both in public and private lives.

I am more particularly worried that the youth, who are the engine room of every society and the most vibrant and exposed of the population of Kanam, who by reason of their educational attainment and exposure should be the ones to champion the cause of unity of our people devoid of ethnic and religious differences are the same people echoing the discordant voices that has militated against our development as a people and the regression of our land over the years.

Shall we continue in the old retrogressive manner or we will chat a new course for the progress and development of Kanam and its people.

Let’s jettison the things that divide us and embrace those things that unite us, because unity is the password to a successful, progressive and egalitarian society.

I hold the unity of Kanam LGA sacrosanct, and will do whatever it takes to propagate unity amongst our people irrespective of tribal, religious or political affiliations. I have offered myself as the sacrificial lamb for the unification of our people.

My titles as the Dan Maje of Jhar Chiefdom and Dan Maliki of Kanam emirate is to foster unity among our people, and I will never rest on my oars until that unity is not only achieved, but manifestly visible for other non KANAM indigenes to borrow a leaf from.

We can set the pace for a peaceful coexistence among our diverse peoples.

All that is needed to make this a reality is outright discarding of religious, ethnic or political difference and deal honestly with one another in our daily living.

Long Live KANAM LGA,
Long Live Plateau State and
Long Live the Federal Republic of Nigerian

Rt. Hon Yusuf Adamu Gagdi
I Represent Kantana state Constituency

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KANAM LGA AND THE NEED TO SHUN ETHNIC AND RELIGIOUS BIGOTRY – Rt. Hon. Yusuf Gagdi