Northern Governors, Traditional Rulers Meet over Incessant Killings

•  PDP accuses Buhari’s aide of politicizing Southern Kaduna crisis

John Shiklam in Kaduna and Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

Northern Traditional Rulers Council (NTRC) and the Northern States Governors’ Forum (NSGF), monday met in Kaduna over the incessant killings and other criminal activities in the region.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the meeting, which held at the Government House, Kaduna, Chairman of the NTRC and the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, noted that violence had continued to thrive in the north with impunity because people who committed crime were not being punished for any wrong doing.

The Sultan said traditional rulers in the region were worried about the killings in the north, especially in the southern part of Kaduna State even as the main opposition party, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), has frowned on what it said was an attempt by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, to trivialize the murder of innocent civilians in Southern Kaduna.

Abubakar 111 called on the governors of the 19 northern states to strive to achieve lasting peace in the region and the whole country in particular, assuring that traditional rulers will take measures to bring peace lasting peace.
“We at the Northern Traditional Rulers Council are very worried and sad with the situation of insecurity in the north, especially the happenings in Southern Kaduna, kidnapping, cattle rustling, the state of IDPs in the North East in particular and other parts of the country.

“We are more worried with the usage of places of religious worship to preach hatred, violence and other issues that tend to divide us, rather than strengthen our unity as a people created by one God.

“We believe, one of the numerous reasons why violence continue to thrive in our midst is the impunity that is allowed to thrive in our midst. Nobody is punished for criminal wrong doings they commit.
“We are therefore strongly supporting more measures taken and to be taken by Governors of the Northern States, especially the Governor of Kaduna State.

“We look forward to a very robust, blunt and honest discussion today. Let us collectively as one people say enough is enough” he said.

Speaking earlier, the chairman of the NSGF and governor of Borno state, Alhaji Kashim Shettima said the meeting was the first of its kind, “convened for us to collectively deliberate and find urgent, practical but lasting solutions to the myriad of socio-economic and political problems besetting our region.”

According to him, the core challenges facing the region revolve around “intolerance, absence of peaceful coexistence, poverty, illiteracy and lack of unity”.

“How can we address these critical concerns? We, the 19 Governors of Northern States believe that a gathering of some of the key leaders of the North, is more than able to provide solutions to our problems. As Governors, we are more determined than ever, to sincerely walk the talks generated from this important meeting” shettima said.

He lamented that “the North is a poor, pathetic shadow of its former self” in spite of well endowed, promising geographic space which accounts for 70 per cent of Nigeria’s land mass and up to at least 60 per cent of its population as well as huge solid minerals resources, noting that the region, has literally conspired against itself to be reduced to the laughing stock of the world.

Also in his address, the host governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai said the meeting came at a time when all hands must be on deck to complement government effort in the restoration of peace in different parts of the North and Nigeria as a whole.
“I believe that one of the major issues that would occupy our time today is to discuss the security challenges bedevilling this part of the country, especially clashes between herdsmen and local communities, terrorism, kidnapping, cattle rustling, among others.

“As we all know, traditional institutions are the closest organ of government to the grassroots. Your participation on issues of security therefore cannot be over-emphasized.
El-Rufai called on all political and traditional leaders to rise in condemning the incessant killings and destruction of lives and property in the region.

He said “The security situation has become ever more worrisome, as people who had co-existed peacefully for several years have now allowed some unscrupulous elements to instigate them to take up arms against one another, leading to the wanton destruction of the lives of innocent and law abiding citizens.

“This is not only reprehensible but most condemnable. It therefore, becomes incumbent on us to assist government and security agencies in bringing all kinds of criminal elements in our midst to justice, without regard to their ethnic and religious pretensions”.
He called for collaboration with the royal fathers to bring about peace and stability in the north.
A communique is being expected at the end of the meeting.

In a related development, the PDP has frowned on what it said was an attempt by presidential spokesman Shehu to trivialize the murder of innocent civilians in Southern Kaduna.

In a statement yesterday evening by its National Publicity Secretary, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, the opposition party said such a narrow and jaundiced partisan approach to serious issue of the death of people smacks of insensitivity on the part of the federal government.

“We condemn in totality the statement credited to the Senior Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity (SSA), Garba Shehu, on Channels Television today, Monday, January 23, 2017 wherein he shamelessly alledged that the killings in Southern Kaduna is partly the fault of the PDP because it is the only Senatorial District in the North West with PDP Senator. How sad!

“We are baffled that such a callous, irresponsible and insensitive statement could come from a person who speaks for the President of Nigeria. This shows the extent to which every issue in the country today is viewed from the APC’s and the Presidency’s extremely narrow and jaundiced partisan political prism.

“Is Garba Shehu inferring that the hapless people of southern Kaduna were singled out for genocide because they elected a PDP senator? Or that the People invited such mindless violence upon themselves by choosing to be different in the sea of APC domination? Or is the Southern Kaduna massacre really an action to teach the people a bitter lesson for voting PDP and not APC? It is really unimaginable that any reasonable person can make such a reckless statement.

“One really wonders when the APC would finally accept responsibility for its incompetence and maladministration and end the blame game. They have spent the last two years doing nothing but blame the PDP for their woes. They will from all indications, spend the next two years doing the same. May be that’s what they were elected to do after all. Even then, they need not descend to the gutter as Garba Shehu did on Channels TV this morning.

“It is high time those in authority learned that we cannot reduce everything to partisan politics. You do not play politics with the lives of millions of people. That’s exactly what APC Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir el Rufai and President Buhari have been doing with the lives of the people of Southern Kaduna. Beyond politics, we are all accountable to God almighty.

“We once again call for an international inquiry into the Southern Kaduna massacre. We have little faith that those at the helm of affairs at the State and National levels will do justice in the matter.
“Finally we call on Garba Shehu to tender an unreserved apology to all Nigerians for his unguarded, reckless and irresponsible statement failing which we would call on President Buhari to relieve him of his duties”.