23/10/2024
From Gana to Konyo : Understanding The House of Akwaza
By Iorliam Shija
In recent weeks, the people of Sankera which comprises of Katsina Ala, Ukum and Logo Local Government Areas of Benue State, have been seeing semblance of peace and calmness that eluded the area for years due to activities of different bandits that come in different sizes.
The recent changes are attributed to the peace initiatives of Bishop Isaac Dugu, the Catholic bishop of Katsina Ala Diocese. His latest invitee to the peace table, last week, was Konyo Amakaa Akwaza and his bandits . Before Konyo , the bishop toured Logo and Ukum Local Government Areas where he met , some times , through his priests, the bandits and sought their cooperation for peace.
When the enigmatic Konyo appeared, his flamboyant fashion sense and inaudible mien made him an instant attraction to all. What many doesn't seem to know is the fact that as far as Sankera is concerned, Konyo is the most dreaded bandit because he is the successor of Terwase Akwaza , who was known as Gana . In short , he is Gana's cousin.
In the early 1990s , one of the children or Iornder Akwaza of Mbayongo Council Ward , Katsina Ala Local Government Area went to Tor Donga to do his secondary school education. Since he was away from home, he was staying with his uncle who was a teacher in his school. The name of this boy was Terwase .
Some days , this strongly built boy would come to school with a GHANA MUST GO bag and at the close of school left with so many stuffs belonging to other students. He was a petty criminal who sometimes was also fe**sh. His bag always had amulets which made the students scared of him. Some who were attracted to his ways , he would promise to administer some powers on them .
The story of the student with the mysterious Ghana Must Go Bag became common in the staff room which made one teacher to start calling Terwase Iornder Akwaza as the Ghana Must Go boy , a name which was later shortened as Ghana or spelt as Gana by others .
Pa Akwaza Zoho kpam, patriarch of the family in his life married one wife and gave birth to five children as follows
1. Amakaa Akwaza
2. Shimave Akwaza
3. Iornder Akwaza
4. Kpemna Mike Akwaza
5. Nyiaor Akwaza (female) .
Before the rise and fame of Terwase Iornder Akwaza from the family , it was Mr Kpemna Mike Akwaza who was a teacher and later principal and Ortar Amakaa Akwaza , clan head , who were prominent from the family.
In short, it was while Mr Mike Akwaza was a teacher at Sh*tile Community Secondary School, Tor Donga that he brought his nephews, Terwase Iornder Akwaza and Aondofa Amakaa Akwaza, who was later known as Azonto, to stay with him . It was also here that Terwase dropped out of school.
From being a petty criminal, Ghana emerged as a warlord and kingpin after his exploits in the Kuteb and Jukun Crises of early 2003. He got experience, arms and team members that no one could ignore him including politicians who had just come on the stage in 1999. From the years 2003 to 2015, he had become a behemoth! All attempts to capture and kill him had overtly or covertly failed .
When Samuel Ortom became governor in 2015, he dangled an amnesty at him and he accepted. The first amnesty failed along the line which called for a second one . It was while he was coming for the second amnesty that he was intercepted and killed in September , 2020.
There are claims that Ghana didn't only have experience and arms , he also had spiritual powers which made his capturing very elusive. So when he was convinced to come for the second amnesty, he handed over every thing to a younger cousin known as Konyo Amakaa Akwaza. He is said , was strongly doubtful of what awaited him . So naturally, his powers fell on the little Konyo now known as OVERALL.
When Ghana was killed , his close cousin, Aondofa Amakaa Akwaza or Azonto who had been with him for years took up the task of revenging his death. He identified many stakeholders including family members and or politicians. It was while on his revenge spree that he was also arrested in September 2021. His whereabout is not known since then .
In all these , those who are familiar with the security architecture of the area knew who took over from Ghana, who else if not Konyo Amakaa Akwaza, the Overall, the man that recently accepted an Olive Branch from the leader of the Catholic Church in the area . Will this public coming to accept and preach peace by Konyo bring long lasting calm to the area? Only time will tell.
YOUTH Movement TV
