Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, on Monday said politicians, traditional and religious leaders must rise and condemn the incessant killings and destruction of lives and properties in the Northern region.
Speaking at the meeting of Northern Governors’ Forum and Northern Traditional Rulers, held at Sir Kashim Ibrahim House, Kaduna, El-Rufai said no differences should supersede the common humanity.
“All Political, Traditional and Religious leaders must rise in condemning the incessant killings and destruction of lives and properties in our region,” he said.
He said the security situation has become ever more worrisome as people who have co-existed peacefully for several years have now allowed some unscrupulous elements to instigate them to take 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 said.
The Governor called on his colleagues and Royal Fathers to join hands together and never give up in the pursuit of peace and progress for the region.
“We must strive and restore our region to the status of its glorious past of peace, progress and development.
“On our part, we have not relented in our efforts in encouraging our diverse people to bridge the communication gaps between and amongst them. We must not allow religion or tribal differences to be a barrier between us and our common humanity,” El-Rufai said.
He congratulated the Royal Fathers for their exemplary role in the quest for unity in the region.
El-Rufai noted that the overwhelming attendance at the meeting further demonstrates total resolve towards uniting and building a peaceful society and promoting stability and socio-economic development of the North.
The Governor stressed further that 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.
