To stem the trend of communal crisis bedevilling Ifon-Osun, Ilobu and Erin Osun communities in Osun State, an apolitical organisation, the Yoruba Youth Socio-Cultural Association (YYSA) has called for a peaceful resolution of the impasse.
A release made available to LEADERSHIP in Osogbo on Monday by the Osun State coordinator of the group, Prince Sesan Opadoyin, urged stakeholders to take urgent, decisive, and lasting steps toward resolving the crisis.
Recall that consequent upon the loss of lives and properties to violent clashes over land ownership by the warring communities, the state government has imposed a 24-hour curfew on the communities.
Opadoyin, who condemned the wanton destruction of lives and properties, declared the scenario as unacceptable, saying no dispute is worth the blood of innocent people of the communities.
His words: “As communities bound by history, culture, and even blood ties, we must ask ourselves: Is this the legacy we want to leave behind?
“The destruction of lives and properties, displacement of innocent families, and the ongoing fear that has gripped these communities are unacceptable. No land, no boundary, no dispute is worth the blood of our people. It is time to end this cycle of violence and embrace a path of peace, dialogue, and mutual understanding”.
He urged youths in the communities to shun violence, adding that they must not allow past mistakes to define their destiny.
Meanwhile, the 24-hour curfew imposed by the government on the communities has started taking its toll on residents of the feuding communities.
Lamenting the situation, a transporter, Hammed Ademola, who spoke with LEADERSHIP on the phone, said his family cannot survive a few days of curfew without devastating effects.
He called on stakeholders to urgently find lasting solutions to the conflict to avoid innocent souls that will become casualties of the imposed curfew.
