From Paul Orude Bauchi
Bauchi State Governor Senator Bala Mohammed has cautioned those agitating for the breakup of Nigeria to desist, warning that any attempt to break the country will lead to unimaginable monumental humanitarian crisis.
Mohammed gave the warning while speaking with journalists at the Presidential Lodge, Ramat House, Bauchi, on Thursday.
“We should restrain in our own responses, in our own utterances because this country is so united and interwoven and if there is any breakage here and there as being mooted by some people , a monumental humanitarian crisis will occur because I can imagine how it will be. We should be careful,” he stated.
“As a nation we need to reflect deeply on our common existence as a nation as we are challenged by so many aspects of misdemeanors, crimes and criminality”
He expressed gratitude to God that in spite of the pessimism all the insecurity in Nigeria, the Id-il-fitr was celebrated across the country “in peace and not in pieces”
The governor, who directed that the Durban be celebrated in Bauchi, expressed gladness for the peace recorded across the country during the festive period.
“The Ramadan had been a period of sober reflection and we hoped and prayed that Allah has forgiven our sins and we are brand new today.
The Bauchi State Governor expressed regret that most of the criminal activities of recent were being perpetuated by Muslims.
“As a Muslim most of it is coming from us as members of the Islamic faith. The issue of kidnapping and banditry and the rest is coming from us as members of the Islamic faith- the issue of banditry, kidnapping and the rest,” he said.
“I am very courageous to say it. It is not something that is acceptable to Islam. That is something that is very incongruous to the values of Islam and we should fear God to make sure we don’t give ourselves and our religion a bad name. We have to change,” he said.
He acknowledged that insecurity in the north was escalating to other parts of the country, calling for decisive steps to be taken to tackle it once and for all.
“I call on the federal government to do what it can do but certainly it is not just the federal government responsibility. It is also the responsibility of the states and the local governments, our traditional institutions, our religious leaders, stakeholders, we are all policemen today,” he said
“We know these bandits, we know where they stay what they stay and what they do. Sometimes we aid and abet them; we should fish them out because the police are outnumbered. They are already overwhelmed. I am calling on the federal government to work with us as state governors and local government because that is where the solution to the problem is. The major security architecture of the federal government has failed not because of any compromise but because the situation is overwhelming”