The Shehu of Borno, Alhaji Abubakar Elkanemi, has said northern traditional rulers became Boko Haram targets because of their cooperation with security agencies to fight terror in the Northeast.
The monarch said 14 of his empire’s 59 district heads had been killed by insurgents, arguing that it was wrong for the insurgents to claim that they were fighting an Islamic cause.
“It is wrong to force somebody to convert. There is nowhere in the Bible or Q’uran that we are asked to use force to convert people.
“They’ve attacked mosques, killed Imams, district heads, and even my own brothers,” he said.
The monarch spoke after Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson warned the political class and religious leaders against making comments that would escalate the nation’s security challenges.
A statement by Dickson’s Chief Press Secretary, Daniel Iworiso-Markson, said both leaders spoke when they met at the Governor’s Lodge in Abuja.
The governor implored political and religious leaders to take steps that would reflect support for the security agencies, instead of capitalising on the situation to score cheap political points.
Dickson said: “This is a time to unify Nigeria, not a time to balkanise her.
“The challenges here should not be politicised. We should come together and confront it.
“Our view is that political leaders should refrain from making comments capable of inflaming passions. Our comments should reflect support and empathy for our security agents, and not seek to score cheap political points.
“We talk about the abductions and the killings. All people of goodwill are with the people of Borno and I believethat Nigeria shall soon overcome this problem.”
He further noted that the nation’s constitution empowered governors to maintain law and order in their domains.
According to him, the intervention of Niger Delta governors brought about the existing peace and stability in the region.
The governor said the only difference between the president and the governors was that the president had direct control of the armed forces.
“As a state that has had its own share of insecurity, we deployed our constitutional powers to arrest the situation.
“Every state has sufficient instruments to enforce law and order.
“ The governor has equal constitutional powers to maintain law and order, just as the President,” he said.
The monarch, who is the Chancellor of the state-owned Niger Delta University, said he was the first traditional ruler to be targeted by a suicide bomber.
He vowed to remain resolute and supportive of any process that would restore peace, harmony and unity to his over 1,200 year-old kingdom.
According to him, the Kanem-Borno Empire has never been conquered by power. Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
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