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.
Gombe State Governor Inuwa Yahaya disclosed this to State House correspondents yesterday after a meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Yahaya, who is the chairman of the Northern Governors’ Forum, advised that stakeholders should instead come together to discuss the root causes of the clashes in order to find lasting peace.
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 round table 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 are one and the same family.”
Inuwa commiserated 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,” he said.
He commended President Bola 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, Kaduna State, as well as Bokkos and Barikin Ladi Local Government Areas of Plateau State.
The governor is also seeking 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.
