Northern governors have warned that reprisal attacks in response to the recent violence in Plateau State will not resolve the ongoing crisis but only make it worse.
Chairman of the Northern State Governors Forum and Gombe State governor, Inuwa Yahaya, disclosed this to State House correspondents on Thursday after meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Yahaya advised that stakeholders should instead come together to discuss the root causes of the clashes in order to find a lasting peace on the Plateau.
The governor said that after any such tragic incident, the priority should be on caring for the survivors rather than planning counterattacks.
He stressed that reprisals have never helped to calm tensions in the past, and he cautioned both communities against taking that path again.
He said, “despite the fact that this matter has been there for long, it is time for stakeholders to have a roundtable and tell each other the truth and then take deliberate steps toward loving each other.
“Before now, the people were living in peace and going about their normal businesses.
“Some of the major issues that seem to allow the problem to persist include issues like farmer-herder clashes and the clamour for indigenes versus settlers.
“But the world over, if any society or country doesn’t welcome visitors, such a nation will not progress. After all, we here are one and the same family.
“Therefore, we are commiserating with those who lost their loved ones. There should be no reason why anyone should go and kill or take the life of a fellow human being since it is not a war situation.
“Reprisal attacks have not taken us anywhere, so what we need to concentrate on doing is understanding ourselves and knowing that we have leaders at all levels to whom we can lodge our complaints.
“We should imbibe the habit of loving one another and living in peace for the progress of all of us.”
He commended President Tinubu for sending Vice President Kashim Shettima to visit Kaduna and Plateau States, in order to get the details of what transpired at Tudun Biri in Kaduna State, as well as Bokkos and Barikin Ladi Local Government Areas of Plateau State.
“In my capacity as the Chairman of the Northern Governors’ Forum, I praise the steps taken by the President in order to get to the root of what happened in these two states and the pledge he made that the right action would be taken to prevent future occurrences of these incidents.
“Above all, I am thanking him for the support given to victims or survivors,” the governor stated.
The governor also sought more collaboration between the federal and state governments in Nigeria.
According to him, doing so will help a lot in achieving development in all sectors, thus bettering the lot of citizens.
He said, “There were several engagements between us towards the end of 2023, particularly pertaining to healthcare and enabling business environment reforms and many more.
“Without the economy picking up and doing well, we will continuously be where we are or even worse.
“Collaboration of the states and the federal government – in fact, including the local governments – is very key and fundamental for us because if there is any disconnect, we may not deliver on what we have to do for the people.”
Commenting on the importance of agriculture to human development and attaining food sufficiency, the governor said there was a need for farmers to embrace modern techniques in order to boost their production.
“The way it is now, people have to understand that we must modernize. There is a need for machine tools, there is a need for processing, and luckily Gombe is among the states that have been approved to be part of the Special Agric Processing zones.
“We have set up an industrial park where we can process all the raw materials or the agricultural produce that we have in the State.
“I think if all states will key in and work in tandem and work with the federal government, we shall easily reach the desired destination for Nigeria,” he added.
