By Cosmas Omegoh
Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal, has condemned the violence that erupted in Shasha, Oyo State, leading to the destruction of lives and property.
He said he had been in touch with Oyo Governor, Seyi Makinde, to see how best to halt the violence and resolve the crisis.
He regretted the orgy of violence that “led to the loss of several lives after a clash ensued when a cobbler was stabbed by a cart pusher in Sasha Market, Ibadan, Oyo State.
“The unwarranted reprisal that followed has thus far degenerated into an ethnic conflict with the potential of snowballing into another fratricidal conflict if it is not quickly nipped in the bud. As a nation, we must find a quick solution to this wanton killing of one another amid the ongoing national challenge of insecurity,” he said.
Tambuwal said he was distraught that the Oyo incident was taking place amid the dreaded COVID-19 pandemic, economic problems, and the pressure to see that good governance prevail.
“The incident was against the logic of equity and good conscience for a group of people to discriminate against their fellow countrymen and unleash mayhem on them. We, therefore, reject, condemn and detest the ugly incidents that have enveloped the Hausa and Yoruba communities in Akinyele Local Government Area of Oyo State,” he said.
While commending Governor Makinde for his proactive response by imposing an 11-hour dusk-to-dawn curfew and the immediate and indefinitely closure of the market, he called on the Federal Government to sustain the massive police deployment in the area and also increase the number of security men drafted there.
“All hands must be on deck to ensure the option of dialogue is exploited to the fullest while the welfare of those affected is catered for in the short and long term.”