By Kashim Shettima
Let me start by making one thing very clear; the Northern Governors’ Forum is not here to do the job of the Kaduna State Government or because there is anything missing in the measures taken by the Kaduna State Government. We have confidence in the Governor of Kaduna State, Malam Nasiru El-Rufai, his competence and character have never come into any doubt. Soon after the Zaria crisis, the governor was at the scene and he spoke with the leader of the Islamic Movement and met the Chief of Army Staff. He addressed the people of Kaduna State on Thursday, December 17, 2015 and the government took some far-reaching measures it considers necessary. Malam El-Rufai is the man on ground, he knows the subject matter more than us and he knows the steps he deems most suitable after his extensive consultations. So, we are not here to do his job.
However, we are here in connection with what happened in Zaria, first because the issue has to do with an Islamic group that has membership across the 19 states in the North and beyond. We want to look at how to ensure that the incident does not provide room for anyone or group to perpetuate violence in any of the 19 northern states. We already have the serious problems of Boko Haram to contend with. We are not in any way comparing the Islamic Movement with Boko Haram, no! But we don’t want the same mistake that happened over the Boko Haram crisis to repeat itself. When Boko Haram went wild in July, 2009 with clashes between them and the police in Bauchi on 25th and 26th in Maiduguri, most Nigerians saw the issues as the problems of Bauchi and Borno. When they continued to attack Borno and Yobe, it became the affairs of Borno and Yobe states. All of a sudden, there was suicide attack in Abuja in 2012 and then everything went out of control and we are where we are today.
So, like I said, we do not make any comparison between the murderously violent Boko Haram insurgents and the Islamic Movement but we are here to analyze and ensure that we take measures that will close any avenue which some people may want to seize to create violence in the immediate or long run. Moreover, Kaduna is the socio-political heart of northern Nigeria. Kaduna is to us, what Lagos is to the South West. What affects Kaduna State invariably affects the whole North. If you notice, we make it a duty to travel to Kaduna to hold our meetings instead of holding them in Abuja. Kaduna is the headquarters of northern Nigeria but it will have that significance only if we accord it the relevance it deserves. We have a duty to preserve history and our values by coming here.
While here, we will be briefed on the Zaria incident and we will compare thoughts analytically and extensively. We will also be looking at any other matter that affects the well-being of the North and we shall brief the media on issues that we don’t consider too security sensitive to make public.
We thank you in the media very much for being our partners in progress and we look forward to meeting you again when there is need to do so.
Thank you so much”.
— Shettima, Governor of Borno State and Chairman of the Northern States Governors ‘ Forum made these remarks on Saturday in Kaduna, at the opening of an emergency meeting of Northern Governors to discuss last week’s clash between members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria popularly known as Shiites followers and the Nigerian Army which led to deaths and destructions of property in Zaria, Kaduna State.
