MONDAY’s meeting, convened at the instance of the prominent northern socio-political group, the Arewa Consultative Forum, was largely ignored by the political bigwigs in the region for no apparent reason. Influential politicians like the former President Shehu Shagari, General Muhammadu Buhari and General Ibrahim Banangida, all shunned the event where the security threats posed the outlawed Islamic sect, Boko Haram, was to be the central theme.
A former governor of old Kaduna state, Alhaji Balarabe Musa accused the guests at the peace conference of being responsible for the underdevelopment of the region. “I was invited, but I did not attend because most of them there are the ones responsible for north’s underdevelopment and what we are experiencing now. “I watched them on television and there is nothing new in what they were saying. I think they cannot do anything. They have failed the North. I think former heads of state who did not attend also share the same view like me,” he said.
Addressing participants at the Musa Yar’Adua Indoor Sports Hall, President Jonathan said the socio- economic problems facing the nation were due to the collapse of the Second Republic. The President, who was represented by Vice- President Namadi Sambo said: “It is a result of the gradual collapse of the First Republic. Before then, our country had always been guided by compromises and agreements usually arrived at during meetings of elders and community leaders. Ours was a nation of talkshops and not gunshots until the recent springing up of clandestine groups who spread deliberately, mischievous information, some even attack innocent citizens, maiming and killing wantonly.
“But for those that are in breach of peace, which created insecurity to our good people, the old accepted methods of expressing grievances or seeking restitution for injuries through authorised channels had always sufficed. “It is not out of place to say that the physical and psychological wounds inflicted on the North as a result of the recurring religious, ethnic and political conflicts that ravaged it; including the socio-economic depressions in recent years, that run deep and inflicted untold hardship to many, have not only traumatised its inhabitants but have slowed its progress considerably.”
Chairman, ACF Board of Trustees, Lt.-Gen. Jerry Useni, said the peace conference was as a result of recent happenings in the North “Now we have what we called Boko Haram, which kills at will irrespective of your religion, status or class. This was closely followed by series of bombings of many places, including police headquarters. The North which has been known for peace and unity has taken the centre stage for the destruction of lives and property with serious security consequences.
“During the tour of northern states by the leadership of the ACF, many state governors, traditional rulers and eminent political leaders made passionate pleas on the forum to bring all northerners to a round table and discuss and come out with some solutions,” he added. The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, expressed total commitment of traditional rulers for peace and stability in the region.
He said: “As traditional and religious leaders in this country, we are ever ready and fully committed to total peace and stability of the north and Nigeria in general. We will play our part effectively as we have been doing even before Nigeria came into being. “When Nigeria came into being and the colonialists took over, we were still playing our role very effectively and there was peace and stability in the country. The military and then politicians came and religious and traditional rulers were relegated to the background and so we have problems that abound all over the country.
“We believe that traditional rulers must be given back their prominence in handling issues in their locality for they know the people they live with. We know that in the past, once a visitor comes to town, the Village Head, the District Head and the Emir knows the new face that came in. We want to partner with the governors and the political leaders to achieve peace and I want to assure all that we are fully committed and we will play our role very well.
“I want to call on all of us here to dedicate ourselves to the teachings of our holy books as Muslims and as Christians in this country. We must love our neighbour as we love ourselves. We must be God fearing in all what we do in our life. We must take our children off the streets to the classrooms. Our leaders, especially the political leaders, must lead with justice, fairness and transparency while dealing with the masses.
Then, and only then will peace and stability be restored not only in the North but in the entire country. “We know there are problems, let’s not deceive ourselves. How did we get into these problems? What really happened? Were we lagging some 15, 20 years back? Why do we have crisis everywhere? Muslims killing Muslims; Muslims killing Christians; Christians killing Christians.
Our founding fathers did not do that, so where have we derailed? We must come back to the path of our founding fathers if we want to make any progress.” Senate President David Mark wondered why the North had been riddled by crises in recent years. He said: “Let me start with what we have all probably taken for granted. Is state creation a blessing or curse for northern Nigeria?
Do we still think of northern Nigeria in the first instance as we did in the 1960’s and before the war? Or do we think firstly of our states? Or do we think of our geopolitical zones? Why has the north continued to lag behind in education? “All available statistics show that in both literacy and numeracy, the North lags behind the South, and even within the North there is so much disparity between the zones and between states.
Sincerity of purpose, consistency, transparency and honesty are all necessary ingredients to ensure peace and peaceful co-existence in the North, sincerity on the path of our religious leaders, traditional rulers and above all sincerity on the part of politicians.
“Are we afraid to openly condemn Boko Haram, either for political reasons or out of fear of possible attack by the sect? How can we keep quiet when a group begins to propagate the ideology that western education is haram? Western education today remains the pivot of development.” Niger State Governor and Chairman, Northern Governors’ Forum, Dr. Babangida Aliyu, said that government at all levels should tackle economic and social problems in the society.
“In addressing what may be masquerading as ethnic and religious conflicts and security threats in some parts of the northern states, we must first tackle the economic problems and social inequities in our society. “Unless we take deliberate steps to implement policies and programmes that have direct bearing on the lives of the majority of the people and ensure equitable allocation of resources, we will continue to search for answers to our security challenges for a long time to come.
“This scenario is best illustrated by the peace and stability that the North witnessed in the past under an honest leadership with integrity. Therefore, nobody in his/her sane mind will jeopardize such integrity for whatever pecuniary gains, no matter the circumstance,” he said.
Also absent at the two-day conference was another former Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, Governor Jonah Jang of Plateau State, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government; Governor Danbaba Suntai of Taraba State; the state chairman of traditional rulers, Chief, Aku Uka; Benue State Chairman of traditional rulers, Dr. Alfred Akawe Torkula; his deputy, Ochi Idoma; Dr. Elias Epekpa and Gbong Gwom Jos. No reason was, however, given for their absence, but they were invited to attend the parley.