Killings: This madness must stop - Sultan
The Sultan of Sokoto and Chairman of the Northern Traditional Rulers’ Council, Alhaji Muhammad Saad Abubakar III, yesterday called for an end to the crises in the North that have resulted in killings and other vices, saying the madness must stop.
Speaking at the executive council meeting convened in Kaduna to discuss ways towards ending the escalating spate of insecurity in the northern region, he said, “It is time to put a stop to this madness. It is total madness for people to kill one another for no just reason, but due to political affiliation, ethnicity, religion and who you are, where you come from.”
The sultan observed that Nigerians are worried about the crises, which have lingered for several years, and noted that no sensible government would condone such continuous murder of people.
He said despite being aware of the protocols of the meeting, the council decided to enlarge its scope by inviting senior traditional rulers from Southern Kaduna to primarily discuss the continuous escalation of the violence and insecurity in that part of the state.
The sultan further expressed confidence that the recent meeting of different individuals and groups at the Sir Kashim Ibrahim House to discuss the lingering crises with Kaduna State governor marked the beginning of the end of the problem.
He noted that the Northern traditional council rulers’ meeting will also, apart from the security concerns, discuss the COVID-19 pandemic and how it is affecting the people, saying, “We will come up with a position paper that will be sent to the Kaduna State government on one of the best ways of finding a lasting solution to peace and stability not only in Kaduna but in other parts of northern states.”
He urged the participants to deliberate with sincerity saying, “We must have the fear of God in our discussions and we must have the fear of God in our dealings with one another.
“Almighty God is seeing us and will judge us. As leaders, we will account to him each on what we did on earth. All of us profess to be very good in our religion but no religion has instructed us to do what is being done in some parts of the country. That is we are talking of Kaduna State and I want to categorically and bluntly say that that madness must stop and we call on the leadership at the highest level in this country and that of Kaduna State to put hands together and bring an end to this mayhem.”
He said it is sad that the lives of innocent citizens are mostly sacrificed in the crises, saying “The children of the elite were never killed, but the children of the common man who does not know what a government is all about. It is very important for us to realise who are the victims of all these crises in all parts of the world, the children of the common man, and I think governments at all levels must rise up to the occasion.”
He informed that the council, which has 20 members does not usually invite the governor of Kaduna as well as other political and traditional leaders to its executive committee meeting, but because of the situation in Kaduna, the invitation was necessary.
Governor Nairu ElRufai in his remarks said his government is doing everything possible to bring the crisis to an end.
“These communal clashes in Kaduna have been going on since 1980. We have done everything we can by establishing military bases, establishing mobile police, we even have air force and special forces present all over southern Kaduna to increase the number of security presence in the state. This has helped to a large extent.
“Your royal excellences would recall that if a crisis happened in any part of Kaduna, it tends to spread to the entire state, but by the grace of God since we came into office, we were able to contain every crisis to one locality and we dealt with it without even spreading.”
He disclosed that the state government has procured equipment, technology from drones GSM trackers, and other technologies to enhance security agencies to better track criminals adding.
The meeting had in attendance the Shehu of Borno, Sarkin Kano, emirs of Gwandu, Mubi, Zazzau, Illorin, Gombe, and Fika as well as the Tor Tiv, Gbongwon Jos, Ola of Abaji, and Estu Nupe among others.