Mangu is a Local Government Area in Plateau State in the northern part of Nigeria. As of the 2006 census, Mangu has a landmass area of 1,653 km² and a population of 294,931.
The major ethnic group in Mangu is the Mwaghavul people, and the Mwaghavul language is also the major language. They occupy the districts of Panyam, Pushit, Kerang, Mangun, Kombun, Ampang West, and the local government headquarters (Mangu).
Other ethnic groups are the Jipal found in Kaper, Katul, Kabum, Rundum, Kanjing, Bul, Male, Zwagal, Kwa, Kaburuk, Koplar and Dungning; the Pyem found in Gindiri; The Chakfem People and the Kwanka or Kadung people found in the northeastern in Kadunung.
Although Jos is the state’s capital, Mangu local government hosts the Factory of Nigeria’s first and most cherished bottled water; SWAN Spring Water, located right at the foot of the Kerang Volcanic Mountains and is also the largest maize farm in Nigeria, no wonder the major occupation for the people of Mangu is farming.
The once quiet Mangu community is no longer what it used to be. The farmers now dread going to their farms as they are no longer certain of what awaits them. A Mangu farmer few months would set out with high hopes, and almost a predictable outcome of the day. The reverse is now the case as some either meet their farms razed by fire, or destroyed altogether. In extreme cases, the farmer did not make it back home too.
Random attacks, mass killings and unnecessary bloodshed pointing to genocide, gunshots blaring in the air, disturbing the peace and tranquility of the land, people living in fear and always wanting to hide away as they do not know when or where the next mishap would happen. Such is the current situation that the people of Mangu are faced with.
Their farm lands have been invaded by wicked and unreasonable men, and farmers can no longer farm on their lands to make a living. The once vibrant maize producing community is now a shadow of itself.
A close observation of the different happenings in Nigeria, and further probe into their connectivity revealed that the security of Mangu became so porous about the same time the Nigerian Government launched the commercialisation of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation TELA Maize.
Approved by the Federal Government of Nigeria in January 2024, TELA MAIZE PROJECT is a public-private partnership that is working towards initiating the commercialisation of transgenic drought-tolerant and insect-protected maize varieties in Sub-Saharan Africa. This Genetically Modified Maize called Tela Maize is primarily funded by Bill Gates, USAID and Howard Buffet Foundation.
This Genetically Modified maize was initially introduced to France and some other countries in 2012. A study was conducted on the GMO corn crops and the ensuing results were disastrous.
The results showed that rats fed with the Genetically Modified corn for two years grew large tumours. Study author Gilles -Eric Seralini at the University of Caen said it shows that the crops are not good enough. “GM food have been evaluated in an extremely poor and lax way with much less analysis that we have done,” Seralini said.
The assertion from French scientist Gilles -Eric Seralini where he claimed cancer in rats increased when they were fed genetically modified corn and/or water spiked with the herbicide roundup caused quite a stir, to which French ministers for agriculture, ecology and health swiftly responded by commissioning the National Agency for Health and Safety to have a thorough look into the claims.
It was agreed that depending on the findings, they could invoke an emergency suspension on the importation of the Monsanto GM maize strain NK603 which was used in the study, in the whole of Europe.
12 years later, the same cancer prone genetically modified maize is brought to Nigeria and have been approved by the Federal Government. Shortly after this the largest maize market in Nigeria, from which maize is exported to other parts of the nation and beyond the shores of country, has become a field of blood.
Is this a mere coincidence? Or is it a religious fight? IReport news decided to dig deeper and here’s what a close observer has to say: “I think we all need to speak out about the ongoing situation in Plateau State, as it directly affects the food security of the entire nation. It’s important to note that this is occurring concurrently with the introduction of Bill Gates’ recently funded Genetically Modified seeds into the Nigerian market.
“Mangu Local Government in Plateau State is the leading maize hub in Nigeria, and any impact on maize will also have repercussions on livestock. So what we see happening in Mangu is quite deeper than mere religious crisis, let’s not buy that tape. For years they’ve made us believe it’s about a religious crisis but we are wiser now!”
More to come, as the story unfolds.
