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After years of Wrangle: Madina Town, Nimba Point Feud settle

Some chiefs and elders at the plantation posed for photo after the meeting. The recent resolution of a serious feud between Nimba Point and Madina Town people in Madina Township, Garwula District in Grand Cape Mount County, which seems to have stall Madina Town, factored as one of the project affected communities in the database of Sime Darby Plantation has been settled.

This follows traditional and colorful ritual performed considered as sign of purity from the people of Nimba Point to the people of Madina Town brought chiefs and elders as well as ordinary people of both towns together in Madina Town on Sunday, 4 November, 2018.

Kola nuts and white chicken were presented to Madina Town by Nimba Point residents rendering unconditional apology to their host (Madina Town) which has been accommodating them for almost a century.

Making the presentation on behalf of the people of Nimba Point, Madam Nyamah Augustine, Chairlady of the 17 Project Affected Communities at Sime Darby Planation in Madina Township, Garwula District, said they were being misled with unfounded information causing them to go loggerhead with their stranger fathers.

She stated among many things that Nimba Point people are squatters and not town owners, a wrong perceptions they have kept for years in their heads against Madina Town regarding the establishment of the town (Nimba Point) but that must come to an end.

“Having realized that we were being fed with half-baked information,” Madam Augustine continued: “we have no option but to come to our parents and grandparents to render them apology asking for forgiveness to enable us live in Nimba Point without confusion any longer.”

She was buttressed by Francis Cooper, a resident and spokesman of Nimba Point delegation saying their presence at the talks was intended to make peace and live in harmony with their host community (Madina Town).

He stated that stranger(s) can never fuss with their host, adding that anyone who does that do not understand custom and tradition of the people of that community.Cooper, a classroom teacher at one of the schools at Sime Darby Plantation, believes living and working together as one people has been the wishes of the squatters in Nimba point.

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He indicated how they did not know the past of Nimba Point but now they have understood same. He said this understanding has prompted them to appeal to the consciousness of the chiefs and elders of Madina Town for peaceful co-existence.

In response, Madina Town welcomed and thanked Nimba Point for the effort to resolve the internal wrangling between the two towns having understood the facts surrounding Nimba Point coming into being in 1948 when President William V. S. Tubman declared his “Open Door Policy.”

Madina Town Chief, Folley Sherman then commended Nimba Point for the gesture and now they have realized in the aftermath of their first position which is as a resultdeemed wrong from misinformation provided Nimba Point’s residents.

For Alieu Gbany kiandole, Chairman of Madina Town Land Committee, praised the people of Nimba Point for their understanding of the truth on the matter that Madina Town give birth to Nimba Point.
In a strong worded comment, Alfred Quayjandii, Lead Negotiator/Spokesman on Madina Town Land Dispute with Sime Darby Planation for almost a decade now, first paid tribute to Nimba Point for the bold step taken.

He said Madina Town do not want any confusion with their strangers but emphasized the need to work together as one body for the common good of the affected communities and generations to come.

Quayjandii indicated that Nimba Point was considered as one of the project affected communities because of the farmland and crops it had but that should not be the basis for the Planation not factoring in Madina Town into its database as one of the project affected communities.“Madina Town delisted and does not want sour relationship with the Plantation they been cool about things because our people have been deprived of job opportunities while Nimba Point residents who are strangers benefiting,” he noted.

In a short statement, Morris O. Dosii, a septuagenarian and dean elder of Madina Township, Garwula district appreciated Nimba Point for the peace talk upon learning the truth about the town’s establishment.

But before proceeding the elderly man (Dosii) asked Nimba Point delegation as to why Town Chief, James Mator, Sr. who stand accused of spreading fake information allegedly was not present?.
This question was never answer despite brainstorming among the strangers to reply. However, progress was made in ending the differences between Madina Town and Nimba Point.

This aged old matter, which sprung up between Madina Town and Nimba Point had being oe of the sticky issues which had over time prevented authorities at the Plantation from factoring in Madina Town as one of the project affected communities. Sime Darby Plantation had repeatedly raised these concerns at numerous talks held with Madina Town, since its inception a nearly a decay ago.

In their last meeting held in Kon-Town, Madina Township on Saturday, 20 October 2018, the Plantation represented by Dao Metzger, Human Resource Manager; Zulu Seh, Industrial Relations Manager and Samwar Fallah, Public Relations Manager, the issue of perceived “scarce-mongering” among the two towns was brought to the fore.

They reminded Madina Town to have in-house discussion with Nimba Point before any paperwork of recognizing them as one of the project affected communities could be respected.
The resolution of the confusion between the two is a breakthrough and cardinal for the survival of the Plantation as well as the peaceful co-existing of these communities after years of internal wrangling.
Though Madina Township Commissioner, Stephen Perry, the one who has been initiating these dialogues between Sime Darby Plantation and Madina Town on one hand, and Nimba Point and Madina Town on the other, was absence but this did not stop the peaceful resolution.However, Nimba Point was represented by Abarku Goa, Zombon Dennis, Francis Cooper, Sekou Kamah, Emmanuel N. Yonkendeh and Saah Joseph, Jr. Others are Joseph S. Fayiah, Mother Nyamah Augustine, Fallah Larmie, Tenekai Kiazolu, Hilton K. Porka and Joshua W. Briggs.

While Madina Town delegation was comprised of Morris S. Dosii, Alfred Quayjandii, Lead Negotiator/Spokesman; Madina Town Chief Folley Sherman; Alieu Gbany Kiandole, Chairman of Madina Town Land Committee; Boima Freeman, Chairman Concerned Citizens of Madina Land among others.
By Throble Kaffa Suah, Freelance Journalist

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The New Dawn is Liberia’s Truly Independent Newspaper Published by Searchlight Communications Inc. Established on November 16, 2009, with its first hard copy publication on January 22, 2010. The office is located on UN Drive in Monrovia Liberia. The New Dawn is bilingual (both English & French).
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