NORTH BLAMES VIOLENCE IN REGION ON LEADERS

By NBF News

It was bashing for the leaders of the northern part of the nation yesterday in Abuja as opinion leaders converged to chart a course to peace in the zone.

At the forum organised by the Peoples Media Limited, publishers of Peoples Daily Newspapers to deliberate on the fate of the North as regards peace called Northern Peace Conference, the speakers agreed that the cause of the crisis rocking the zone was a cumulative effect of misrule of the zone and the entire nation in the past.

The participants also agreed that unless something drastic was done to stop the drift into anarchy and the loss of peace, the North of the nation might lose relevance and go down into self destruction.

The conference attracted prominent northerners and politicians including the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, the Minister for Police Affairs, Navy Capt Caleb Olubolade, who represented the Vice President, Alhaji Namadi Sambo.

In his speech at the function, Tambuwal praised the initiative of the peace process and promised the region that the House of Representatives would always liaise with the Federal Government and the people to make laws that would ensure the return of peace to the North and the entire nation.

He admitted regrettably that the nation had not been able to build a nation that lacked oppression of the citizens. He lamented that peace had taken flight in the zone, especially with the rise of the Boko Haram crisis.

The Police Affairs Minister, Navy Capt. Olubolade, who read the address of the Vice President also promised that the government was ready to embark on reforms that would enhance peace building in the zone and also bring an end to the various insurrections that had whittled down peace and harmony in the North.

The Chairman of the occasion, Prof. Adamu Baike worried that unless something was done to right the wrongs of the past, the North might slide into a huge crisis. He challenged that the lack of peace and violence in the North was a moral burden on the leadership of the zone. He called for the enforcement of mass education and the improvement of the security intelligence situation to empower younger ones, who readily indulge in crime because of poverty.