Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar
| credits: File copy
| credits: File copy
Traditional
rulers from the northern part of the country, under the aegis the
Northern Traditional Rulers Council, on Monday presented a position
paper to President Goodluck Jonathan on how best to tackle the violence
by members of the Islamic sect, Boko Haram.
The traditional rulers led by the Sultan
of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, presented the report at a meeting
held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
At the end of the meeting that lasted
about an hour, the council’s secretary, who is also the Emir of Kazaure,
Alhaji Najeem Adamu, told journalists that they suggested dialogue and
amnesty as parts of the strategies aimed at ending the violence.
Adamu said the traditional rulers warned
that granting of amnesty to the sect should be done properly and not
haphazardly as some people would expect.
He said, “The meeting was about the state of the nation, the security challenges we are facing.
“We recommended the use of dialogue as
one of the strategies to resolve the security challenge and at the same
time to devise strategies that will encourage or lay the foundation for
sustainable peace in this country.
“Our presentation was preceded by long
time discussion and deliberation. In a nutshell, what we sought to do is
to give our views having regards to our background, our knowledge of
various societies, various communities what we think should be done to
resolve the crisis and ensure sustainable peace in the country.
“The issue of amnesty came up. It formed
part of the strategies we are recommending but of course, it has to be
done properly with better appreciation of the situation rather than
haphazardly which people think should be the case.
“We believe that we have to give very serious consideration and make sure that whatever we do is sustainable.”
Minister of Information, Labaran Maku, also told journalists that the meeting centered on how to resolve the crisis.
He said, “The issues raised in the paper
concern the ongoing efforts by the Federal Government, particularly on
the security challenge.”
