Nasr El-Rufai, Kaduna State Governor
By Lucky Barth, Abuja, Nigeria
A mediation conference to find a lasting peace to the issue of mass killing and terror in Southern Kaduna which Britain and some other developed countries are already ascribing ethno religious motives to is in the offing.
The Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Christian Pilgrim Commission, NCPC, and Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria CAN of the 19 Northern states and FCT has revealed that the proposed conference tagged Southern Kaduna Peace Summit would commence on 8th September, 2020 and would lasts three days.
He disclosed this recently in Southern Kaduna during a condolence visit to selected strategic leaders in the beleaguered area.
The NCPC boss met with the Southern Kaduna Christian Leaders Association at Bajare Bishop Court, the Emir of JAMA’A, Alhaji Muhammad Isah Muhammad and his emirate council, the chief of Kagoro as well as the Chief of Zikpak, Dr. Josiah Kantiyok.
The message of Rev. Yakubu Pam was the same in all his engagement with these leaders which centred primarily on advocacy. He condoled and emphatised with them on the lost of innocent lives of their people. He prayed for lasting peace in their communities.
As part of his peace mission to Southern Kaduna, he admonished them to call on their youths not to take laws into their hands, thus he stressed the need for ceasefire by all the parties in the crisis. He also charged them to stop the killings and embrace dialogue.
More importantly, the NCPC both urged them to forgive those that had caused them sorrow. He invited each of these personalities to attend the proposed Peace Summit from 8th to 10th September, 2020 at Southern Kaduna.
Speaking during the Executive Secretary’s visit, the President of the Southern Kaduna Christian Leaders Association, Bishop Simon Peter Mutum, spoke on the total neglect of the Southern Kaduna in the area of infrastructural development.
He called on the Kaduna State government to make them feel the impact of good governance.
He explained that the government should also understand the problems of the Christians in Southern Kaduna, urging the government to come out in full force to put an end to the senseless killings of innocent lives, adding that “enough is enough”.
In his remarks, the Emir of JAMA’A, Alhaji Muhammad Isah Muhammad, stressed that Islam is a religion of peace and that his Emirate had always enjoyed peace and should continue to maintain peaceful co-existence and inter faith harmony among people of other faith.
He welcomed the idea of the proposed three days peace Summit in Southern Kaduna.
At the palace of the Chief of Zikpak, His Royal Highness, Dr. Josiah Kantiyok, commended the NCPC boss for going extra mile to ensure that peace reign supreme in Southern Kaduna.
He explained that many visitors had visited the area since the crisis began, but he was the only one that had gone ahead to invite them for further discussion. According to him, “no one had given us this extra effort.”
He affirmed that his people are peace loving people and would do everything to ensure that peace reign in Southern Kaduna. His words, “I want to assure you that we are peace loving people and have forgiven those that wronged us.”
The Executive Secretary’s interventional mission to Southern Kaduna has made him and his team to visit the affected communities up to four times which had culminated in the scheduled peace Summit in Southern Kaduna.#
