President of the Gongola Peoples’ Forum, Markus Gundiri, has asked members of the Adamawa State House of Assembly to endorse the demand for autonomy and the right to self-determination in the administration of traditional institutions in the state.
Gundiri, who made the demand at the inauguration of the executive committee of the forum in Yola, the Adamawa State capital, tasked the state legislators to accede to the forum’s request or face recall from the state House of Assembly.
“I call on our legislators in the Adamawa State House of Assembly to rise up to the occasion and unambiguously endorse our peoples’ demand for self-determination and autonomy in the administration of their traditional institutions. We will never relent nor compromise on this idea whose time has come.
“We warn that our people will not take kindly to any legislator who stands against or attempts to derail this process. We shall exercise our right of recall of such a legislator,” he said.
Gundiri added that the inauguration of the leadership of the forum is a testament that the indigenous peoples of Gongola have decided to stand up for their rights to self -determination and identity.
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“We are for peace. Peace has been our watchword since we started this non-violent movement to reassert our identity and recover our destiny. Let no one be deceived by our detractors. There is no going back.
“I call on the Federal Government of Nigeria to support our peaceful demand for self-determination. We have a face and we are willing to live peacefully with others in the state carved out for all of us.
“All we are saying is enough of domination and exploitation of our people. The state we all live in is not a conquered territory of anybody. Therefore, it must be seen so and observed so. No one can stop this train because it is driven by the breath of the Almighty God.
“God always seeks the unity of His people. They tried endlessly to divide us on the basis of religion and tribe but today, the Gongola Peoples’ Forum has put an end to it. The GPF has become the living blood that has broken the walls of religion and tribal leanings,” he declared.
Gundiri asserted that the forum is not just a socio-cultural organization, but a body of multi-nationalities determined to reassert its peoples’ right to self- determination in the new global index of rights, away from cultural imperialism and identity theft.
