Following the incessant attacks by unknown gunmen that led to the killings of unidentified number of persons in Kajuru, Kachia, Chikun Local Government Areas and surrounding areas, stakeholders in Kajuru Local Government Area of Kaduna State have commenced dialogue with security agencies for enhanced security in their locality to avoid any further breakdown of law and order.
This parley for sustainable peace between the communities and security agencies was organised by Global Peace Foundation of Nigeria, GPFN, an NGO, in Kaduna with the theme, “Enhancing Social Cohesion to Foster Peace and Security in Kajuru local government”, supported by US Department of State.
Security agencies involved in the peace building dialogue were from the Police, National Security and Civil Defence Corps, Army and Department of State Security.
On the side of the communities were representatives of the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, and Jamaatu Nasir Islam, JNI, traditional leaders, youth and women groups.
The Country Director of GPFN, Rev. John Hayab enjoined the people to embrace peace in the interest of humanity, as “Members of one family Under”.
He reminded them that as humans, the Holy Scriptures tell us that we all come from Adam and Eve and should realise that we are from one creator and have a common humanity.
He said the meeting was to open channels were security agencies could be reached to rub minds with the civil society to curb security challenges.
According to him, in peace building, every person is important as such all the stakeholders in the area were included in the meeting.
He said that the target was to open doors for new relationships between society and security agencies.
Rev. Hayab who is also the state chairman of CAN, explained that with synergy between security agencies and the communities, peace would be achieved by all stakeholders.
In his remark, the Northern Coordinator of GPFN, Sheikh Haliru Maraya, said the purpose of the dialogue was to enhance security by building confidence within communities and encourage them to support security agencies.
Maraya said that although it was the responsibility of the government to protect lives and properties, enjoined all stakeholders to have the collective responsibility to help the government in providing peace and ensure stability in our area.
He explained, “So we want the peace experienced in the communities to continue and be enhanced through cooperation between security agencies and the communities.”
According to Maraya, the meeting was to acknowledge the concerted efforts the security agencies are making in protecting lives and properties in the area.
Mr Jack-Jun Jagaba, Vice Chairman of Kajuru local government council, who represented the council chairman commended the Global Peace Foundation on efforts to sustain peace in the area.
Jagaba said no NGO had gone deep enough like the GPFN in working to sustain peace in Kajuru communities.
He added that the local council welcome any effort to enhance and sustain peace in the area.
The Chairman Peace and Reconciliation Committee in the local government, Mr Patrick Maigari, a former chairman of the local government and one-time Commissioner in the state said the interaction with security agencies was a great initiative in addressing issues that affect the diverse groups in the area.
Maigari said that the meeting would also help to agree on how best the communities could help security agencies in achieving maximum peace.
The representative of the different security agencies at the meeting sought for credible and timely information from stakeholders that would help in tackling security challenges in the area, and assured that such informants would be well protected.
All the community leaders at the meeting agreed to work for peace, which is the bedrock of development, and solicited for trust between security agencies and communities.
They assured the security agencies of maximum cooperation for peace to be sustained and enhanced in their communities.
“We should forget our identity in fighting a common enemy and see ourselves as one family under God for our own peace and development,” they emphasized.
Recall that Kajuru local government area of Kaduna state has been having recurring security challenges for years, until now.
