Yes he did, As always would you say? This time, It is due to the tension and crises happening in and around Nigerian states. These crises and invasions have continued to plague innocent and unsuspecting citizens while sad stories are progressively traded on the pages of our screens and national dailies. The people of Miango district however had a different visitation just before 2021 ended by Panam Percy Paul.
Who he is
Panam Percy Paul deserves no introduction but there may be a lot of things about him you didn’t know. And it is not just this visit. His birth name is Bakulipanam Percy Paul Mokungah. He is a Nigerian gospel singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose musical career spans 40years. Panam’s Percy Paul’s kind of music is praise and worship styled in the feel of country musician and African. Did you know he is not originally a Plateau man? He ws born by Numan parents in Adamawa State. But has lived in Plateau for at least 4 decades.
Who he came with
He led a team of well meaning Nigerians to visit the T’egbe people of Miango who had fled from their ountry home due to multiple attacks including night raids by armed groups. The team comprised Dr. Panam Percy Paul through Panam Charities co-sponsors with Link-Way International ministries, Nigeria and the food distribution was coordinated by Ohaha Family Foundation.
What they did
The team went to witness and commiserate with the people of the T’Egbe Community and also to distribute food items to support at least 200 displaced families in Te’Egbe who fled from over 10 neighboring communities in search of safety.
Some effects of the crises
These attacks follow multiple and intermittent ethnoreligious conflicts that have rocked the area, civilians were brutally murdered, houses burnt and destroyed, Agricultural produce ripe for harvest were stolen and destroyed, high casualty figures, properties looted and destroyed when the attackers invaded neighboring communities, forcing survivors to flee to seek safe shelter in Te’Egbe, which was eventually attacked the Thursday before this intervention.
The Community’s response
Before commencing the food distribution, some survivors shared their experiences and solicited for as much more support and assistance as they go through these challenging times.
A survivor, Aunty Grace, said “it was the sound of gunshots that woke me up, thought I was dreaming, but had to run to seek safety in the middle of the night when the attackers invaded our village, thank you for the food”
Receiving the team and the food commodities on behalf of the paramount ruler of Irigwe people, the village chief, Baba Adamu thanked the team for choosing this community to support the survivors, and prayed for the team. He recounted his experience in a very heart provoking manner, “is it that God has forgotten about us?”
He asked, “we have been attacked twice, and now we are sleeping and living outside, thank you for choosing to feed us, this will go a long way to help us as we fled with nothing except what we had on, God bless you”.
