Once again, national and international radio waves throbbed with disturbing news of an outbreak of crisis in Kaduna, the capital city of Kaduna State. The crisis was said to have consumed about 55 lives with scores of people sustaining injuries.
The immediate cause of the crisis that was said to have spilled to areas like Mararrabar Rido and spilled to Sabon Tasha and Tudun Wada Central Market on Sunday, October 21, 2018, still remains foggy but reports indicated that it actually started on Friday, October 19, 2018, at Kasuwar Magani area. The new dimension of the crisis, this time, was so fierce that a 24-hour curfew had to be declared by the State Government in the city. This means that no resident or visitor in the troubled area would be able to go out of his/her lodge either in pursuit of business or even health maintenance.
Besides, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) had reportedly mobilized some scores of special anti-riot and anti-terrorism forces to the State to tame the rage of disharmony and quench the fury of anger. Whatever might have caused this latest crisis and whatever investigations are to follow must not be an immediate matter of concern for the authorities now. The immediate concern should be the taming of the proverbial shrew that is bent on sucking the blood of humans and ruining the sources of economy.
When the whirlwind of evil is settled, investigations into the causes and effects of that terribly devastating crisis should start with thoroughness with a view to putting a final stop to incessant crisis in the State. For now, let killings, maiming and wanton destruction of property stop and be immediately replaced with a conducive atmosphere in which people can move freely in peace and harmony in the pursuit of their desires.
The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), under the leadership of its President-General and Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence, Alhaji Muhammad Sa‘ad Abubakar, CFR, mni, is very much disturbed by the current crisis in Kaduna, the capital city of Kaduna State. This is because such crisis, becoming too frequent, is capable of snowballing into a national calamity. The most disturbing aspect of that crisis so far is the religious undertone to which the press is, as usual, linking it.
We call on the Kaduna State Government as well as the Federal Government to handle the volatile issue with care to prevent it from getting aggravated. If Nigerians need peaceful coexistence as citizens, this is the time. We will not be tired of telling government to bring all those that have hands in these crises to book because, as it were, failure to do just this has been the most significant factor in making these unfortunate incidents to be recurrent decimals in the country.
While we may not be in a position to tell government of the right measures to take in averting these kinds of tragic incidents, we have the right to express our opinion to the effect that the persistence of these incidents is continuously eroding people’s confidence in government. Similarly, it smacks of lack of cooperation, synergy and coordination among the various security agencies and organizations, needless to talk about near complete absence of intelligence gathering. These are challenges that the Federal Government will have to address urgently not only to ensure the entrenchment of enduring peace, but also to sustain people’s confidence and goodwill.
Signed
Professor Salisu Shehu
Deputy Secretary-General
Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA)
