The Arewa Peace Foundation, a Non-Governmental Organisation promoting peace in the Northern region, has called on stakeholders in Zamfara to forget their political differences and join hands with the Governor, Dauda Lawal Dare in moving the state forward.
The foundation also said mudslinging, blackmail, or sponsoring groups and individuals to malign Governor Lawal Dare, would not augur well for peaceful coexistence.
Speaking with news in Kaduna, the Director of Publicity of the foundation Bello Abdulhamid
noted; “it is our belief after the wider specter of violence that originated during successive administrations in Zamfara, which negatively impacted on the socio-economic well-being of the State, the coming of His Excellency, Governor Dauda Lawal Dare has opened a vista of hope, and the State is on the obvious rise again.
“We have to commend the Zamfara State Government under the able leadership of the Governor, who despite being in the opposition party, has weathered the storm, proved the doubting Thomases wrong as well as ensured that governance has taken its proper roots in the State.
According to the foundation,” Furthermore, the current incursion by Federal troops into the enclaves of terrorists hibernating in forests across rural Zamfara, and report of their being disorganized, severely suppressed and dealt with, is heartwarming and deserves commendation.
“We fervently pray the onslaught on these marauders would be sustained by the Federal Forces so that Zamfara would have ultimate peace and stability soon and regain its peaceful and cozy status.
“In as much as Governor Dauda Lawal Dare and his able team have focused on ensuring that the home State is on a sustainable path to progress, growth, and development, it behooves all stakeholders within and outside the State to keep aside political and other differences, galvanize efforts to bring out the State from its predicaments and woes.
“Here, we are particularly and deeply worried when individuals who meant well for the State and availed information that leads to the arrest of these terrorists or other criminal elements, and the State Government takes action so that the hoodlums be prosecuted and punished according to law, after a week or so these criminals would be freed and return to their nefarious businesses, to the detriment of the people.
The group also said, “There are also communities that are proximate to the terrorists’ enclaves. Some are even separated by a river or stream, so close that each side could see what is happening on the other side. This is also clearly known to the authorities and therefore, action should be taken to safeguard the people.
“However, not being able to access their farms by farmers in some parts of the State due to banditry, has not only affected food security in Zamfara but also in neighbouring and far States that had relied on grains and other crops from the State.
” This had also affected industrial growth as many agro-allied manufacturing firms that get cotton, groundnut, soybeans, etc from Zamfara as source of raw materials, have for some time been starved of such supplies because of banditry.
“We want to call on the Nigerian public to ignore the ranting of some personalities in the State who are currently expressing and exhibiting some anti-state utterances that are injurious to the current administration using the ongoing cases of banditry in the State.
“We, therefore, advise that in the interest of the overall people of Zamfara, sceptics keep ego aside and join hands with Governor Dauda Lawal Dare to push Zamfara to the desired level. Mudslinging and blackmail, or sponsoring groups and individuals to malign Governor Lawal Dare, would not augur well for peaceful coexistence.
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