Indigenous ethnic nationalities in Adamawa State have said that gubernatorial candidates in the 2027 general elections, seeking their votes must be willing to fight for the renaming of the state to Gongola State or forget their votes.
This has been the recurrent demand by all the indigenous communities in the 19 local government areas of Adamawa State, visited by the leadership of the umbrella socio-cultural association, the Gongola Peoples Forum (GPF).
Responding to the GPF’s call for unity and collaboration to help the association restore their cultural identities, the representatives of all the ethnic nationalities in Song Local Government Area of the state, re-echoed the demand to intending governorship aspirants.
The representatives who belong to different political parties were unanimous that Gongola was the cultural name of the geographical area now called Adamawa State.
The name Gongola they said, was not derived from the River Gongola but that the river got the name from the area (Gongola) it traverses through.
“Gongola is the collective cultural identity of over 85 indigenous ethnic nationalities who were reigning in the area before 1750 and had shared cultural activities with one another like the Bachama of Numan Local Government Area and Mbula people of Demsa Local Government Area, the Yungur of Song Local Government and Luguda people of Guyuk Local Government to mention but a few,” the representatives declared.
They said that renaming Gongola State to Adamawa State was to hand over the region to a single tribe that came to the region just about a century and half ago, but was favoured by the colonial masters.
However, the representatives added that Governor Ahmadu Fintiri through the restoration of chiefdoms that predated colonialism and his creation of new chiefdoms and emirates has inspired identity renaissance amongst the indigenous ethnic groups.
“We have been taking money from politicians but we remained without identity! Other Nigerians outside the north call us Hausa-Fulani but that’s not who we are.
“So, we have discovered that name which identifies us is more important than money. Adamawa is not our identity, we are Gongola people. Therefore, if you want to be our governor, you must identify with our plight to revert Adamawa State to Gongola State or no deal,” the representatives declared.
Responding, the team leader of the GPF, Chief Medan Fwa, said that the forum is apolitical only to matters of partisanship but when it comes to identity, “we step in boldly to identify with our people.”
Chief Fwa told the people that the agitation for the renaming of the state has become a recurrent decimal, assuring that he will request the forum’s council of elders to look into the demand.
Chief Fwa told the people of Song that they should stop listening to the political lies that indigenous peoples of the state can’t work together because of their differences.
He said that those lies become stronger during campaigns and are meant to divide the indigenous groups.
He commended the Song people for turning out enmass to interface with the GPF and to know more about its programmes.
