Percy Onyeka
The Northern Governors’ Forum on Thursday said it is pleased with President Bola Tinubu’s intervention to prevent a recurrence of the killings in Plateau and Kaduna states.
The chairman of the Forum, Governor Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe State, also thanked the administration for providing support and relief materials to the survivors and families of the slain.
Yahaya, who spoke to State House correspondents in Hausa Language, revealed the forum’s position after closed-door talks with the President at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja,
While citing Vice President Kashim Shettima’s visit to Kaduna and Plateau states, he also warned against spreading divisive narratives among communities, saying the gory killings were a result of such divisions.
He said, “In my capacity as the Chairman of Northern Governors’ Forum, I praise the steps taken by the President to get to the root of what happened in these two states and the pledge he made that the right action would be taken to prevent future occurrence of these incidents.
“Above all, I thank him for supporting victims or survivors.”
He described the Plateau crisis as old, calling for a broader review of the immediate and remote causes to produce lasting solutions.
“Even though this matter has been there for a long time, it is time for stakeholders to have a round table and tell each other the truth and then take deliberate steps toward loving each other. Before now, the people were living in peace and doing their regular business.
“Some major issues that seem to allow the problem to persist include farmer-herder clashes, the clamour for indigenes versus settlers.
“But the world over, if any society or country does not welcome visitors, such a nation will not progress. After all, we here are the same family,” he reasoned.
Yahaya sympathised with those who lost their loved ones, appealing for restraint from aggrieved communities who may be tempted to revenge.
He advised, “There should be no reason why anyone should go and kill or take the life of a fellow human being since it is not a war situation.
“Reprisal attacks have not taken us anywhere, so we need to concentrate on understanding ourselves and knowing that we have leaders at all levels to whom we can lodge our complaints.
“We should imbibe the habit of loving one another and living in peace for the progress of all of us.”
Governor Yahaya also sought deeper collaboration between federal and state governments as this would ease development in all sectors for the good of Nigerians.
He noted that both tiers of government have shaken hands in healthcare and business-friendly reforms, saying, “Without the economy picking and doing well, we will continuously be where we are or even worse off.”
“Collaboration of the states and the federal government, in fact, including the local governments, is key and fundamental for us because if there is any disconnect, we may not deliver on what we must do for the people,” Yahaya added.
