The Northern Elders Forum (NEF) has berated some state governors for ‘washing their dirty linens in public’ over the rising cases of insecurity in Nigeria.
NEF cautioned that if they as leaders of the people could publicly disagree and fight one another on such issues, it will be very difficult for them to caution followers who do such.
The body added that the issues of insecurity should be tackled together without allowing ethnic, political, religious, or other differences to cause further trouble.
Naija News recalls the issues surrounding the frequent clashes between herdsmen and farmers in the country as well as the use of guns by the Fulani herdsmen has led to friction and public verbal assaults among some of the state governors.
In his view, Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed had defended herdsmen carrying AK-47 rifles, arguing that they needed it to defend themselves against cattle rustlers and other forms of attacks.
However, Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State disagreed with the submission, going ahead to label Mohammed as a terrorist, who supports the actions of other insurgents terrorizing the country.
Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu had also told herdsmen to vacate the state’s forest reserves.
Speaking against these backdrops, the NEF director of publicity and advocacy, Hakeem Baba-Ahmed while speaking at a joint security conference attended by Northern governors, traditional leaders and the federal government delegation in Kaduna on Thursday, urged the Governors to find better ways of resolving their differences.
He said: “Governors are leaders and when governors disagree so openly, on the way forward either on security or how to deal with banditry it causes more panic among our people. We beg our leaders; there must be a way to resolve issues among governors without making some of these things public.”
“When we do that, it doesn’t mean we are on the opposite side, it just means that the north has a lot of assets and all the assets need to be put to use one. There is no need for ethnicity or religion because the entire north is in trouble.”
Meanwhile, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has argued that the recent ban on cryptocurrencies in Nigeria by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) should be reviewed.
The Vice President on Friday while speaking at the Bankers Committee Vanguard said while he understands the fears of the CBN and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on cryptocurrencies in Nigeria, their stands should be a subject of further reviews.