Group harp communities on peace and tranquility

The Citizen Monitoring Group has called on Southern Kaduna Communities to embrace each other and live in peace, regardless of his tribe or religion.
The group made this call in a Follow-Up Meeting on Southern Kaduna Peace Gathering that held at Wonderland Hotel, Kafanchan, Jema’a Local government headquarters in Kaduna state.
The Convener, Reverend Gideon Para-Mallam, Regional Secretary (IFES-EPSA) Africa, mentioned that revealed the purpose of the meeting as a result of their previous general meeting that held last month in Kafanchan saying that the closure of all the higher Institution in Southern Kaduna is a major issue which needs to be addressed with the reopening of the schools.
Vice Chairman Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Mr. Jonathan Onigbinde has said that economic activities are among the factors that can help in restoring peace to Southern Kaduna crisis.
The Chairman, who spoke in Southern Kaduna Peace Gathering Follow-up meeting with stakeholde, said that if the communities established manufacturing companies and engage themselves in economic activities they can embrace each other and fight anybody that comes to destroy their resources.



“But if everyone been unemployed, they will easily go and embrace trouble when its comes because there are people that are gaining from crisis in this country. Our concern now is to prevent such kind of people that are infiltrating our society,” Said the chairman.
The chairman also lamented over the billions of Naira Nigeria is spending in importing food when the country can also grow, processed and exports foods to other countries.
He therefore encouraged the participants to start thinking on how to invest in building peace through economic activities.
In his speech at the meeting, the former law-maker representing Jema’a/Sanga in Federal Constituency, Hon. Ado Dogo Audu call the people to shun hatred speech and rumour mongering for they help in destroying the foundations of peace building.
“We have no reason to separate ourselves while God created us and designed for us to be living together as brothers,” said the Ex-law maker.
“So much money has been invested by the government in order to establish peace, instead of bringing developmental projects to the areas affected.” He added.
He also calls the attention of the Kaduna state government to re-open Higher Institutions in the area that were closed during the recent southern Kaduna crisis.
(The Institutions are; Kaduna State College of Education Gidan Waya-Kafanchan, Kaduna State College of Nursing and Midwifery, Kafanchan and, Kaduna State University (KASU), Kafanchan Campus).
The Police Area Commander in charge of Southern Kaduna, ACP Kayode Sunday, said in his speech that though, differences exist, but people have to respect such differences and learn how to live with the existing differences in peace.
ACP Kayode also reminded the audience that police men were friends to all, and, in term of cases, neutral.
In his contribution, the Commandant, Joint Task Force, Operation Save Haven, Jos, who was represented by STF Commandant, Colonel I. Ekpenyong said that Muslims and Christians are brothers and they must accept each other from the bottom of their heart without waiting for someone from outside to reconcile them.
Earlier, the Convener and the Co-Convener of the gathering, Reverend Gideon Para-Mallam and Imam Kabir Qassim urges the community leaders and representatives of organizations present in the gathering to identify specific challenges to sustainable peace in the area, suggest specific solutions towards conflict prevention and sustainable peace building and, the mechanisms that will help in their implementation.
Present at the meeting were Major General Diyeri (Rtd), Professor Sunday B. Agang, JNI/CAN chairmen, representative, Sole Administrator, Jema’a Local Government, Bishop of Anglican Communion (Kafanchan), representatives from Southern Kaduna Peoples Union (SOKAPU), Southern Kaduna Muslims Development Association (SOKAMUDA), among others.