Ile-Ife Crisis Has no Ethnic Connections- FG

The federal government has said the recent clash between Hausa and Yoruba communities in Ile-Ife had no ethnic connotations

This was the position of the minister of Interior, General Abdulramaan Dambazau (rtd)

Dambazau disclosed this to state house correspondents over the weekend

Dambazau had earlier visited the troubled community to get first hand information about the clash.

He appealed to the various stakeholders to eschew violence while assuring that government was handling the matter and all the culprits will be brought to book.

His words: “I was able to visit Ife on my arrival from South Africa where I went in company of minister of foreign affairs to discuss with South African government on the issue pertaining to xenophobic attacks on Nigerians.

“So, when I came back, I decided to move straight to Ife, because what occurred in Ife happened while we were away.

“The deputy governor of Osun state received us because the governor was away here in Abuja for the NEC meeting.

“We went straight to communities where this crisis occurred and we saw the extent of damage and we met the leaderships of the communities and we discussed with them. It is very clear that this issue is not about crisis between Hausa community and Yoruba community in Ife.”

He said the Hausa community has been living in Ife for close to 200 years as the first settlers arrived there in 1820 noting that these are about the fourth, fifth generations of the community and they have never experienced this kind of crisis.