Northern traditional rulers identify causes of Southern Kaduna crisis

The Northern Traditional Rulers’ Council has identified the absence of cordial inter-community relations in Southern Kaduna and urged the various communities to bury the hatchet to enhance peaceful co-existence in the state.

This was contained in a communiqué issued at the end of the Executive Committee meeting of the council signed by the Emir of Gummi, Alhaji Lawal Hassan, and made available to Daily Trust yesterday in Kaduna.

The communiqué identified the need for political leaders to assign special responsibilities and provide desired logistics to the traditional rulers to enable them to assist in containing the security challenges in their domains.  According to the communiqué, “The committee noted with appreciation the resolve of the state governor, Malam Nasir el-Rufai, to end the security challenges in Southern Kaduna and his pledge to support the Northern Traditional Rulers Council towards achieving lasting peace and stability in the state in particular and the entire North in general.

“In the case of Kaduna State, there is the need for the political leaders to assign special responsibilities and to provide all the logistical and other support to the traditional rulers to enable them to assist in containing the security challenges in their domains.

“The committee noted the absence of cordial inter-community relations in Southern Kaduna and urged the communities to bury their grievances so as to enhance cordial co-existence in state considering its high concentration of different tribes and cultures.

“The committee observed that there is an ever-increasing unemployment in Nigeria that triggers drug abuse, which aggravates the frequency of banditry, kidnapping and communal clashes. It expressed dismay over the farmers/herders clashes which have bedeviled not only Southern Kaduna but the entire Northern region, and called on governments at all levels to take proactive measures to resolve the issue.

“The committee noted with concern the incessant increase of illegal mining sites in Southern Kaduna, Zamfara State and other parts of the North.”

Also, at the end of the 3-day peace summit on ‘De-escalating Violence in Southern Kaduna’ organised by the Nigeria Christian Pilgrims Commission (NCPC) in collaboration with ‘Friends of Southern Kaduna,’ it observed that reprisal attacks constituted a hindrance that escalates the crisis in the region.

The communiqué, which was signed by the chairman of the communiqué committee, Prof. Sunday Agang, and his co-chairman, Prof. Abdullahi Ashafa, further stressed the need for immediate cessation of attacks, kidnapping, and cattle rustling to pave way for peace in the area.