The President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Rev. Samson Ayokunle has said pleaded with the governor of Kaduna State Mallam Nasir El-Rufai to stop the blame game but rather accept the responsibility of putting a lasting solution to the crisis in the state.
Ayokunle made the plea today August 17 in an address presented to the governor on the killings in Southern Kaduna in recent time.
In the address, a copy of which was made available to Church Times titled, A Clarion Call on the State and Federal Governments to Do More in Stopping the Continuous Wastage of Lives and Property in Kaduna State, the CAN president noted that the crisis in the state predates the present government of the state adding however that government at all levels should work towards ensuring that the crisis does not linger.
He said, “It is on record that other administrations achieved some level of peaceful coexistence among the various ethnic and religious groups in the state. Hence, in finding a solution to the ongoing crisis, CAN believes some lessons could be learned from the past in order to draw a roadmap for the future.”
Ayokunle stressed that the governor has a responsibility to be a solution noting that the era of accusation and counter-accusation should not be encouraged.
His words, “our coming here is not to place accusation against anyone concerning the crisis nor is it to say that the government of the day has not done anything to stop the continuous killings. It is rather to say that the present best of the government and the security agents are not good enough. It would be enough and praiseworthy when the killings stop.”
The CAN president said the continuous cry of CAN against the insecurity in the country and particularly in Kaduna State in the recent time is “because we are tired of seeing human beings being slaughtered like animals. It is because not only our heart is bleeding, but that of God our Creator and Maker as well.
“Whenever you see us complain to your government or the federal government, it is because we have no other person to cry or look up to but you and the security agents.
“We equally cry because of the economic downturn this perennial crisis is bringing to the state. We cry out against the killings because of the negative image the continuous crisis is bringing to the state and our nation in the international community.
“If people say that it is religious or ethnic, we do not have the right to say they are foolish or should shut up because the continuing crisis has given them room to say whatever they are saying as long as the killings continue.
“So, the government is the one who has our trust and resources to secure our communities and we have the legitimate right to challenge the government to empirically convince us that it is doing that.”
He said further, “on many occasions when I read of ‘unknown gunmen’ and it ends there, I wonder whether it is not the duty of those governing us to make sure that the “unknown gunmen” are ‘known’ and brought to book! When bandits, herdsmen, Boko Haram, religious fundamentalists or even, cattle rustlers strike, the people would have had the rest of mind and a firm belief in the government and security agents if they had pursued them to wherever they came from and made sure that they were brought to book.
“If such people had been brought to book before, the proportion was a far cry from the frequency of attacks and killings. The people causing trouble are not spirits, so, it should not be too difficult to apprehend them and bring them to book. If there are people sponsoring them, a thorough investigation should be able to fish them out and cause them to face the wrath of the law.”
The CAN leader said when criminal activities are allowed to fester government would be guilty of legitimizing criminality adding that “Whoever attacks first and whoever is doing reprisal are both criminals that must be made to face the wrath of the law”.
He assured that the CAN is ready to partner with the state on insecurity while also suggesting that the state should as a matter of priority “stop accusations and counter-accusations between the government and other stakeholders over the killings in Southern Kaduna but rather think of a round table solution. Every provocative statement over the matter should be avoided.
“Everybody is looking at the governor as a father of the state and this is the understanding with which he should handle every accusing finger pointed at him. Your office is like that of the dung where all kinds of rubbish are dumped. When you were not in charge of the governance of the state, nobody was pointing accusing finger at you.
“No bandit, gunman or cattle rustler should be allowed to strike and disappear into the thin air any longer without being pursued to his or her base for apprehension and prosecution. The guns in the hands of criminals should be recovered. Bushes should be combed through surveillance.”
He counselled further that, “Technology should be deployed extensively by the security agents to apprehend the criminals in their hideouts, including the mercenaries that may be coming from outside the state. All sources of ammunition the bandits and killers are using should be investigated and blocked”
He also recommended, “Community healing, forgiveness and reconciliatory meetings should be held, bringing different ethnic groups in communities together to chart the way forward for peace.”
Ayokunle also advised that the Kaduna government should further strengthen the State Emergency Management Agency and the Kaduna State Peace Commission for the development and rebuilding of Southern Kaduna and other crises ridden areas.
While noting that there are killings on both sides, he requested that a commission should be set up to cater for many orphans, widows and widowers whose future had been put in jeopardy as a result of the killings of their breadwinners.
He expressed the readiness of the CAN to cooperate with the government in charting a new course for the state.
