THE Emir of Birnin Gwari in Kaduna State, Alhaji Zabairu Jubril, said on Tuesday that the current security challenges in the country require the involvement of all Nigerians to contain.

The emir spoke at the ongoing Northern Nigeria Security Conference organized by Arewa Research and Development Project (ARDP) in Kaduna.

He stressed that it was “a big mistake” to assume that only security agencies have the responsibility of ending the security challenges.

“The problem of your neighbour is also your own, this is not a political issue, it is a very serious issue we must all wake up and fight.

“One entity cannot fight this terrible menace. I want us to think deaply, it’s not the issue of one party, we are all responsible and we must take that responsiblity very seriously.

“Unless we come together, will continue to wrongly think that the solutions lies only on security agencies or government, ” he said.

The monarch stressed that even though the greater responsibility of ensuring peace and stability lies with government and security agencies, but Nigerians must all get involved.

“We must all be involved in addressing this menace.

“The time has come for us to remember that if you think a problem affecting your brother or your neighbour is not important, you are making a very big mistake, because if you do not take care of the problem of your brother you are not a good believer.”

The emir attributed the conflicts in the country partly to poverty and lack of access to education, issues which, he said, must be addressed holistically by government and key stakeholders.

“Poverty is a very terrible thing. Some people are using poverty and illiteracy to destroy our society, we must therefore fight poverty and make sure we give good education to our people,” the monarch added.

The Secretary General of Jamaatul Nasrul Islam (JNI),  Dr Khalid Aliyu, also called for collective action to tackle the country’s security challenges.

“The issue of security is very important in the society, without security there is not going to be any meaningful existance of human beings,

“It’s time for all of us to come together to face the scourge of insecurity in our country so that it can be totally eradicated for us to have a meaningful life.”

He called on religious leaders to shun all issues that would bring about division and misunderstanding among the people, adding that their sermons must emphasise on integration and mutual respect.

The Galadiman Katsina and District Head of Malumfashi, Justice Saddik Mahuta, noted that the issue of insecurity has become very serious, affecting every Nigerian directly or indirectly.

Mahuta therefore called on all Nigerians to contribute positively towards addressing the problem, “otherwise it will consume all of us.”

“We don’t have any other country than Nigeria, all hands must be on deck to salvage the country, ” he said, adding that the conference was a very good opportunity for all to wake up and face the country’s challenges with outhmost sincerity.

The Managing Director, Sir Ahmadu Bello Foundation, Dr Shatima Ali, noted that the insecurity in the North east has brought about massive povery to the people in the area while most children are out of school.

“The people are traumatised and numerious orphans abound and we need to find lasting solutions to the problems ” he said.

Also, Prof. Yima Sen, appreciated the organisers of the conference and stressed that identifying the problem of each zone in the region was important in finding the solutions to ending the conflicts.

Sen, who represented the North Central at the conference, said their major security challenge is the unending farmers and herders clashes.

“So in dealing with this problem we have to be very serious and sincere,” he said. (NAN)

– July 2, 2019 @ 17:49 GMT |