…Nigeria’s sovereignty under threat, Northern leaders warn
The Southern Kaduna Peoples Union (SOKAPU), has described the alarm raised by Kaduna State Governor, Nasir Ahmed el-Rufa’i, that the activities of terrorists now running a parallel government in the State as “belated and an unfortunate admission”.
This is as the people of Southern Kaduna revealed the area that has now become ungovernable space in the State is about the size of Abia State. Speaking under the aegis of SOKAPU, yesterday, its Acting President, Awemi Dio Maisamari, noted that indeed, the terrorists have not only taken over the State but had been “running the Government since 2019”.
According to him, “Consequently, most affected rural communities are deserted. That is the lot of rural villages in Kaduna State; especially in Chikun, Kajuru, Kachia, Zangon-Kataf, Kauru, Lere, Birnin-Gwari and Giwa Local Councils. The area that has now become an ungovernable space in Kaduna State is about the size of Abia State. Maisamari further noted that el-Rufa’i’s admission was a confirmation of the various alarms continuously raised by SOKAPU and Southern Kaduna community development associations since 2019.
The Union bemoaned the fact rather than take the alarms serious at the time, el-Rufa’i’s Government chose to challenge anybody to name communities that had been taken over and occupied by terrorists.
Recall that el-Rufa’i was quoted in a leaked memo to President Muhammadu Buhari that terrorists have taken over communities and formed a parallel government in Birnin-Gwari local council, collecting taxes and administering justice in the areas. The memo was said to have been written to the President late last month, informing him that the terrorists who are members of Ansaru al-Musulmina fi Bilad al-Sudan, otherwise known as Ansaru, had promulgated a law banning residents of communities under their control from participating in the 2023 general elections.
The development has now elicited fears among Northern leaders, elders and other stakeholders, who warned President Buhari of the threat to the sovereignty of the nation by the bandits if an immediate end is not brought to the security challenges in Kaduna.
Representatives of the Northern leaders, including Arewa elders, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Jama’atu Nasir Islam (JNI), and other Islamic leaders who spoke severally, said the acceptance by the governor of a parallel government operating in the State is a confirmation of the outcry they made severally in the past that the State government has not been in control of affairs a long time ago.Many of the opinion leaders opined that with the effrontery displayed by the terrorists in capturing communities, President Buhari must wake up to his responsibility in avoiding a situation where terrorists overrun the country.
SOKAPU Acting President, Maisamari, further said the challenge confronting the state governor and the people of the state has taken a frightening dimension. According to him, besides the atrocities committed during attacks, other unspeakable crimes and acts of barbarism perpetrated in occupied communities every day are better imagined than experienced. It expressed dismay that military authorities were yet to create and deploy ingenious strategies that fit the poor security situation.
The group, therefore, called on Governor el-Rufa’i to redirect his often strong, but misguided political will, to truly prioritise the security and welfare of Kaduna State citizens.
