Nasir el-Rufai, governor of Kaduna state, says his
administration is committed to ending the legacy of violence that has troubled
the state for 40 years.
Speaking during a meeting with the national leadership of
the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) on Monday, el-Rufai said some people
are making “baseless claims” that the government is doing nothing to resolve
the killings in the southern part of the state.
The governor said even with the series of interventions, the
ultimate guarantee of peace is the willingness of communities to resolve their
differences through lawful means.
“While we mourn the dead, our immediate focus remains to
stop the cycle of attacks and reprisals. We remain committed to ending the
legacy of violence that has blighted the state for 40 years, needlessly taken
many lives and curtailed the life chances of others,” el-Rufai said.
“The briefings represent our answer to the terrible avalanche
of skewed narratives of the current crisis, ranging from outright lies about
the nature of the conflict to baseless claims that the Kaduna state Government
is doing nothing to contain and resolve it.
“Part of the false narrative of the history of violent
conflict in southern Kaduna is the loose use of terms like land-grabbing and
genocide. They are being used in this current cycle of conflict, just as they
were in the 2016/17 and the 2011/2015 cycles.
“We have requested and encouraged anybody to present
evidence of any inch of land within Kaduna state that has been forcibly or
illegally occupied. Were such a clear, physical and actual transgression to
occur, it will constitute not only an injustice against the community
displaced, but a challenge to the authority of the state within its territory
that cannot be allowed to stand.
“We challenge anyone to characterise or differentiate the
communal clashes, attacks and killings in parts of Northern and Central Kaduna
State, as well as in Zamfara, Katsina, Sokoto and Niger States from those in
Southern Kaduna. Is it because in all the other cases, the victims are lesser
humans or lacking in voice and media hype? What happened to our common
humanity?
“We have been consistent in saying that beyond boots on the
ground, military bases and police stations, the ultimate guarantee of peace is
the willingness of communities to live in harmony and their resolve to settle
differences through lawful means. Some people do not want to hear this because
it imposes responsibilities on individuals and community leaders to keep the
peace and obey the law, but it is the civilised way to go.”
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