Kaduna State governor, Nasir el-Rufai, has called on religious and ethnic leaders on the need to unite and build a constituency that will forestall peace in the state.
This is as the state, particularly Southern Kaduna, has been engulfed in decades of communal reprisal attacks that have claimed hundreds of lives and displaced many.
In a recent meeting with delegates of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), El-Rufai said there should be an equality of concern for all lives, no matter their ethnic origins or religious beliefs.
According to El-Rufai, sectionalising, religionising or ethnicising security challenges won’t help in resolving the situation.
“We must uphold common citizenship, united in respect for the rule of law, equality of opportunity and promotion of the rights and liberties of everyone,” the governor said.
In recent time, the incessant spate of killings in the state have generated protest, unrest and a lot of criticism both locally and internationally, as various agencies including CAN have urged both the state and Federal Government to swing into action to handle the situation.
There have been lots of false narrations regarding the history of violent conflict in Southern Kaduna, as many tend to lose the use of terms like land-grabbing and genocide, he explained.
“We have requested and encouraged anybody to present evidence of an inch of land within Kaduna State that has been forcibly or illegally occupied,” he said, but noted, “This is a battle that requires a common front of good people from everywhere against the criminals from anywhere.”
While giving detailed insight on the happening in the state, the governor stressed that the Southern Kaduna crisis was nothing more than “unnecessary frenzy of communal attacks, reprisals and revenge.”
He said the killings in the Southern part of the state was not different from the communal clashes, attacks and killings in parts of Northern and Central Kaduna, as well as in Zamfara, Katsina, Sokoto and Niger.
“Is it because in all the other cases, the victims are lesser humans or lacking in voice and media hype? What happened to our common humanity?” he asked
“There should be an equality of concern for the rights of all persons to live in peace and security everywhere, in strict obedience to the law and civilised norms,” he said
The governor also briefed the CAN delegation of the efforts the government had made since 2015 to stop the violent conflict, address its causes and create a path for the diverse communities to live in peace and security.
He said some of the efforts included the setting up of a committee chaired by retired general Martin Luther Agwai to study and proffer ways to stamp out attacks in Southern Kaduna, which had intensified since the violent aftermath of the 2011 elections.
Others were addressing the problem of Sara-suka gangs, widespread cattle rustling and other acts of rural banditry, establishing military and mobile police outposts in Kafanchan, as well as a peace commission, among others.
“The Federal Government also extended the mandate of Operation Safe Haven, based in neighbouring Plateau State, to Southern Kaduna and appointed a commander of the rank of colonel to lead the sector covering parts of the area,” he said
He added also that the state also collaborated with other states in the Northwest and Niger State to undertake joint military and police action in the Kamuku-Kuyambana forest, which serves as a hideout to bandits, cattle rustlers and armed robbers in the Birnin-Gwari axis.
He noted that the current round of violence was triggered by a clash over unresolved farmland.
The governor explained that he revisited the reports of 1992 and 1995 Zangon-Kataf crisis “to address the procrastination of past governments on the disputed land and other key recommendations that required an official White Paper.”
He assured that the government would continue to support security agencies to restore calm in the affected communities.
“Over the last five years, we have invested heavily in the security sector. We have consistently provided vehicles and other logistics support to the security agencies that are deployed in the state.
“We are also addressing the technology side of security, through the procurement of drones, the award of contracts to install CCTVs in phases in Kaduna, Kafanchan and Zaria metropolitan areas, build a command and control centre and establish a forensic laboratory,” he said.
