Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State, on Wednesday, expressed concern over the ethnic and religious divisions in Kaduna State.
He also lamented that all government actions or inactions were viewed from the lenses of religion and ethnicity.
Speaking at a one-day reflection meeting on Kaduna's direction on peacebuilding organised by the Kaduna Peace Commission in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), he said, "I manage a state where emotions run high at the slightest provocation or perception of injustice; the people are captives of their past, a past marked by incessant conflicts, bloodletting, hate, and distrust."
According to the Governor, the State has had its fair share of ethnic and religious conflicts, saying that the intensity has drastically reduced, while fear of escalation due to tussles for land remains strong.
The Governor stressed the need for the people to break loose from the unpleasant past, collectively free themselves from the grip of conflict merchants and agents of retrogression.
He promised the citizens of the state that he was going to run an all-inclusive government without any individual or groups being marginalised.
He also assured of charting a new direction that would lead to a safe, peaceful, and prosperous State.
He said, "Apart from ethnic and religious tensions, we now face the destabilizing activities of bandits, terrorists, kidnappers, armed robbers, and other criminal elements."
He explained the State Government had been working closely with Federal Security Forces to degrade the criminal elements and make Kaduna communities safe for living and business, stressing that the battle had been taken to the criminals' abode.
Comments