By; AMOS TAUNA, Kaduna
A former Inspector General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim A. Coomasie, has cautioned federal and state governments to urgently evolve ways of bringing an end the incessant clashes between herdsmen and farmers in parts of the country.
He noted that the clashes have assumed a most destabilizing dimension if not properly managed could plunge the nation especially the northern region into internecine conflicts the likes of which have never been seen before.
Speaking in Kaduna on Monday at the Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation’s seminar on ‘The North and the challenge of leadership’, he said thousands of lives and property are continually being lost as a result of the herdsmen and farmers clashes.
Ibrahim Coomasie enjoined the North to seek for a way out of the political mess that the region has found itself.
He noted that serious planning played a central role in the administration of northern Nigeria, stressing, “The northern Nigeria before January 15th, 1966 was a territory that was characterized by visionary leadership and tireless dedication to duty to the community. Leaders were known for their integrity, their sincerity and their humility.”
Present political office holders, he said, pay scant attention to the needs of their populace, adding that corrupt practices have become endemic with the provision of social amenities being relegated to the background.
State governors, he explained, are busy building billion naira airports, government houses and other white elephant projects while their people live in wanton poverty and squalor.
Coomasie noted that youths go through the education sector and graduate with no jobs available or means to start something on their own. “This deplorable situation has made them vulnerable as tools of the political class to use to foment political violence or foot soldiers of ethnic or religious bigots and extremists to destroy the peace and serenity the north has been known for,” he added.
He drew the attention of the conference to a roadmap of the Arewa Consultative Forum drawn by experts and submitted to Northern governors, towards achieving harmony, peace and progress.
In a key note address, Professor Alkasum Abba of the department of History, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, observed that the north was left behind other states in the country due to the inability of northerners to talk to each others for the way forward.
He noted that the region’s founding fathers were outstanding in improving the living standards of the people, pointing out that the new breed politicians lack transparency, integrity and wisdom to carry the people along in all spheres of life.
He explained that military interventions in the politics of the country hindered politicians to learn from the old politicians of selfless service that is uppermost in the life of any office holder.
