New Telegraph

My dad’s death has given me reasons to fight for Southern Kaduna –Joel Amadi

Nigeria Afropop singer, Joel Amadi is still living through the nightmare of losing his dad on July 24, 2020 to the current killings happening in Southern Kaduna communities. Amadi Didam’s tragic death serves as an eye opener that the people butchered everyday in Southern Kaduna are not aliens but real people with families. Though Amadi’s father has been buried alongside eight other victims, the scar will forever run deep in the hearts of the families left behind to mourn. The Kennis music recording artiste told Ifeoma Ononye in this interview how he has been pushing for justice for his father’s death, how his music project for this year has been put on hold because of his father’s death and the current situation in his family being the only son with two sisters.

 

First, we want to condole with you on the tragic demise of your dear dad. Tell us how it has been after the tragedy happened?

It has not been easy. I know we all we die one day but no one deserves or plans to that in the manner my father died. I has not been a goof moment for me. I know that life goes on. I and my family are trying our best to move on.

 

This has given me enough reason to stand up for the people of southern Kaduna which I have always done. Unfortunately, this one came home. This is a fight that must go on. We should fight against the killings in Southern Kaduna state.

 

How is your family coping with the situation presently?

 

I am glad that my two sisters and my mum are doing great at the moment. I am surprised at their strength and courage to get over it. Not that they have overcome the tragedy completely but they are not in the situation where they cry all the time. I Am glad to see them holding up well and staying strong.

 

They are holding on to God for their strength and their strength makes it less stressful for me. I pray that God continues to give them that brave heart they have right now.

 

Obviously, you must have become an advocate against herdsmen’s killings, how are you pushing for justice for your dad?

 

How I am pushing for justice is calling on the Governor, El Rufai Nasir to rise up to the challenge to ensure that these perpetrators are brought to book. But it is rather unfortunate that the governor has been acting adamant to the people’s cry and the people’s complain. I have seen interviews where the governor is making it look like the southern Kaduna communities are at fault or that they are the cause of this massacre that is going on.

 

Recently, the governor made a statement that the fight is still going on because the Southern Kaduna elites are still collecting bribe. That they want bribe. I mean they are killing indigenes of your state and you are saying they are collecting bribes. I don’t understand it. We will keep fighting for justice. We will keep letting the world know what is happening in Southern Kaduna. I have some a couple of projects, like press briefing and interviews to create awareness in the society about the killings in Southern Kaduna. Some of my colleagues in the music industry have also spoken up as well. I will definitely make an album from what is happening in Southern Kaduna.

 

Have you been approached by any government or minister about what happened to your father. Was it to condole with you or to ask you to drop the fight?

 

I have not been approached by any government official or minister about what happened. I am not going to stop speaking out.

 

This not me coming to fight government or ministers or senators rather I am coming out to fight the evil that is going on in my father’s land. I can assure those that are responsible, that justice will prevail one day. Whether the government is doing anything or not.

 

Fingers are pointing at the government and they are still acting like they don’t care.

 

This is the more reason people believe they have a hand in what is happening. These indigenes that voted for you to lead them are being killed and you are not doing a n y – thing about it

 

This must be affecting your music career at the moment?

 

It has set me back a little.

 

Not that it affected me in a way that I cannot sing again or release music. Its a switch for me to pour out my energy on this barbaric killings going on. I had projects I had to do concerning my music career before this sad news came up. It halted my recording a song with Zlatan. I was supposed to start recording the week this tragic death happened but I will still get back to it. I will also use my music platform to release an album on the current killings.

 

Do you have a background to what actually started the killings since you say these things are happening in your fathers land?

 

The people on these killing spree are herdsmen. They don’t hide their identity. There is an 11 minutes audio going around where a man who identified himself as Audu and a Fulani man was threatening that the killings will continue until people in southern Kaduna are wiped out. He stated that no one can save the people and not even government. They want to forcefully take the land. It is like ethnic cleansing and nothing is being d o n e about it.

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