From Noah Ebije, Kaduna
The Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, has renewed its commitment to supporting conflict resolution and peaceful coexistence in communities of Southern Kaduna, Kaduna State.
To this end, a 5-day peace summit was held in three Local Government Areas in the zone with the sole aim of mitigating and preventing ethno-religious conflicts among the people.
According to the Defence Chief, the summit was aimed at identifying the remote causes of insecurity that have bedeviled the area over the years through community-based solutions.
The event which took place in Jema’a, Kachia, and Zango Kataf Local Governments Areas on Monday through Wednesday, drew participants from across the eight Local Government Areas in the region.
Addressing the participants, the Chief of Defence Staff, who spoke through his Special Adviser, Mr. Musa Likita said Gen. Christopher Musa was committed to resolving insecurity challenges in the Southern Kaduna region.
He gave the Fulani, Hausa, and Christian representatives the privilege to voice out their grievances to find out some of the subsequent causes of conflicts within their communities.
Army boss urged all parties to embrace peace for development to thrive in the region, just as he also pleaded with them to sheath their swords.
Earlier, the Executive Secretary of Kaduna State Peace Commission, Dr. Saleh Momale, commended the Chief of Defence Staff over the initiative, noting that it helped in mitigating conflicts in the State.
Dr. Momale explained that for the past years, the major challenges were inter-communities conflicts that had a relationship with different ethnicities and religions which, “we generally characterise as religious conflicts”.
” We are happy because of the various interventions and the commitment that numerous stakeholders put in place over the years, we’re witnessing an increasing decline in many parts, particularly in the Southern part of the State. The Urban metropolitan centers have witnessed continuous peace and stability.
“Most of the Local Governments that were witnessing ethno-religious conflicts as well as violence between farmers and herders have reverted to peaceful coexistence, even though, there were some challenges relating to management access to resources; like grazing areas, farmlands and addressing the challenges of crop damages and occasional disputes”. Dr. Momale said.
While analysing insecurity challenges in the zone, he maintained that violence is now very minimal, and commended the religious leaders for working hard to create the right mindset to be able to work together to approach some of the challenges.
Meanwhile, some of the participants on the occasions identified some of the problems, citing lack of discipline among parents towards their children.
According to them, parents must be vigilant about the whereabouts and the kind of company their children keep.
“Communities must take decisive action against known criminal elements living within their domain.
” We are calling on the government to organise community patrol on vulnerable Communities to send fears to the criminal elements terrorising them.
“We are also pledging to collaborate with the military to chase away criminals terrorising communities. We are appealing to the government to help deploy soldiers in vulnerable Communities to help restore confidence and hope.
Some of the Key highlights from the summit include; discussions and sharing of true live experiences toward strengthening peace building efforts and innovative approaches for addressing the insecurity challenges.