- Retired military generals from zone also discuss with governor
Former head of state, Gen. Abubakar
Abdulsalami (rtd), the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar II and
the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto, Rev. Matthew Kukah yesterday visited the
Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai at the Government House, Kaduna,
in a bid to resolve the raging crisis in the southern part of the state.
During the visit, they held a
closed-door meeting with the governor, during which they were briefed
about the crisis that led to the killings of many people and destruction
of property worth billions of Naira in the trouble area.
Before the meeting with Abdulsalami and
co, retired military generals from Southern Kaduna, led by the former
Chief of Defence Staff, Lt. Gen. Martins Luther Agwai had met with the
governor on the way forward to ending the crisis.
Agwai was the chairman of the 16-member
committee set up by El-Rufai in June 2015 to find solutions to the
incessant killings in the southern part of the state.
Speaking in an interview with
journalists shortly after their meeting with the governor, Abdulsalami
said their visit was due to recent happenings in southern Kaduna.
He disclosed that his group would also
hold a meeting within the week with all stakeholders in Southern Kaduna,
especially traditional rulers, religious and community leaders as well
as visit the areas affected by the crisis.
“We are here due to the recent
happenings in Southern Kaduna. And from here within the week, we are
going to meet with other stakeholders, religious leaders, the chiefs in
the area and also visit the site where these problems are and discuss
with the people. After which we will now sit down and see what we think
should be done.
“Then we will return to the governor and
also if necessary to the federal government. Considering that these
clashes and killings are not only limited to Kaduna State, it is
something that is engulfing the country.
“So we want to make sure that peace
reigns in Nigeria; to make sure that people know that we are together.
We have to live in peace with each other and we have what it is to give
and take. We are reaching a situation in the country where human live
doesn’t mean anything to people and this is wrong.
“There is no religion on earth or
anywhere that preaches violence. So this is why we are here today. We
thank the governor and his team for receiving us. One of the points that
the governor drew our attention to is the way people take laws into
their hands and they go scot free. And this impunity must be checked.
These are some of the issues we discussed.
“Everybody is aggrieved in one way or
the other. So, what we beg of people is to be patient; try as much as
possible to forgive and to be each other’s keeper. We must live
together, we must find solution to the problems, and to sit down and
talk to ourselves because there is no problem that cannot be solved when
you are talking,” Abdulsalami said.
Also speaking after the meeting, Bishop
Kukah who is from the southern part of Kaduna State said the meeting was
to find out what is happening in Southern Kaduna, with a view to
finding solutions to the problem.
“I think the visit is more of solidarity
with the people of Kaduna State. We are here to hear for ourselves
what exactly is happening and what we can do with the hope that we can
find a way forward based on the situation.
“We are part of the delegation. I
convened the peace committee and what we are doing now is to try to
bring about peace. We are looking at how we can achieve peace and
stability.
“I think what the people of Kaduna
State, including the government should be doing now is looking into how
we can achieve peace and development and I think that is the reason we
have democracy.
“What is going on now is a very sad
phase in our history, but I believe that we can get over it and we will
get over it and come out much more stronger and committed to peace,”
Kukah said.
According to the Christian Association
of Nigeria (CAN), over 800 people have been killed in Southern Kaduna by
rampaging herdsmen in the last few months. Scores of homes and school
buildings have also been destroyed.
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