‘Dialogue, panacea to Southern Kaduna killings’

By Taiye Odewale
Abuja

The Senator representing Kaduna South District in the Senate, Danjuma Tella La’ah, has called on the Kaduna state government to adopt dialogue as a measure to end incessant bloody clashes between suspected Fulani herdsmen and farmers in the southern district of the state.
La’ah, who made the call yesterday in Abuja while fielding questions from journalists over the crisis, said “lasting peace cannot be achieved without dialogue.”

Over 200 people have been killed in the last few months in Southern Kaduna in clashes between suspected herdsmen and largely farming communities.
To stop this, the  PDP lawmaker stressed the need for government to organise meetings of the people of the area with the Hausa/Fulani communities to resolve the crisis and as well continues to live together in peace, noting that most of the clashes were caused by “outsiders parading themselves as herdsmen.”

He said: “There is need for the people of Southern Kaduna to sit down with the Hausa/Fulani to resolve the crisis. My concern is to ensure that a lasting peace is returned to Southern Kaduna and I am happy that peace has already returned.
“One thing that people don’t know is that this problem was created by the activities of criminals masquerading as herdsmen. They will go to the area to unleash terror on the people, especially the farming communities and we will be thinking they are genuine herdsmen.”

While pledging total support to the peace initiatives embarked upon by both the Kaduna state and federal governments in checking violence in the area, he emphasised the need for dialogue to resolve the protracted crisis between the farmers and herdsmen.
“Both parties should know that the incessant bloody clashes that have always resulted into loss of lives and properties were not natural, but man-made. They were neither caused by religious nor ethnic problem, but what some people wanted. And the best way to know that they are being caused by external forces is to organise constant meetings for dialogue.”

He also called on the Police to immediately swift into action to halt any reprisal attack by the herdsmen so as to prevent the crises from being escalated, especially following the recent alleged killing of two Fulani herdsmen in Anguwan Yashi village in Jema’a local government area sparking fresh fears of renewed violence in the area.
“Security agents should move in quickly as reports reaching me suggested that Fulani herdsmen are inside the bush and they may be planning reprisal attacks on the people.”

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