Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has disclosed that the Buhari-led administration is not turning blind eyes to the crisis in Southern Kaduna but will tackle it effectively.
Osinbajo gave the assurance on Thursday during a special conversation featuring him and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, at the ongoing Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Annual General Conference.
Osinbajo listed the Southern Kaduna issues to include ensuring justice, fixing economic marginalisation and the prosecution of persons responsible for the murders, noting that the mindless callous killings in Southern Kaduna are heart-breaking and unacceptable as they are avoidable.
“There have been judicial commissions and all sorts, but the problem remains. So, there is the need to address the underlying issues. You can’t sweep under the carpet, justice and the cries of economic marginalisation. The fact is that we must prosecute persons responsible for these murders or otherwise impunity will worsen, and also support those who have lost their breadwinners“, he said.
Speaking on the way forward, Osinabjo made reference to his personal experience of having worked with an NGO to provide relief materials to displaced persons in the region, stressing also the need to condole those who lost loved ones and those injured or who have suffered loss of property in the crisis. He then reeled out some things the FG has put in place and n his personal efforts of engaging community leaders in Southern Kaduna and the State governor to look at what peace-making efforts were possible.
“First is the improvement of security in Southern Kaduna”, he said. Read also:Â We Targeting Electrification Of 5 Million Households With Solar Power – VP Osinbajo
Now, we have a military base there, for the first time. We also have a lot of Air Force surveillance. We have about 500 conventional and Mobile Policemen in Zangon-Kataff and Kaura Local Government Areas and then, the combined military team of the army and the navy who are also on ground 24 hours. This is basically to just take care of the volatile situation there. But there is also a lot of work going on to ensure that some of these fundamental issues are being addressed and it’s an evolving situation, but it’s something we can’t afford to ignore and it’s gone on for far too long and it’s redressable and possible for us to resolve. I have been involved since 2001 through the work of the Macedonian initiative, an NGO that focused on providing relief materials to displaced persons in Southern Kaduna and several other places, especially in the north-central part of Nigeria”, he added.
A building set ablaze during one of the Southern Kaduna crisis
