The Coalition of Northern Groups has appealed to the Federal Government to, as a matter of urgency, begin the process of rehabilitation, resettlement and reintegration of all displaced communities throughout the northern region.
CNG, made the call in a communique issued at the end of its stakeholders’ engagement with northern artistes, social media Influencers and bloggers held n Kano.
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The meeting which was aimed at addressing insecurity in the region, decried the spate of banditry, kidnapping, cattle rustling and farmers/herders clash which are having negative effects to socio-economic development of the region.
Rising from the meeting, the stakeholders, unanimously urged, “the Federal Government in particular, to reactivate the well designed and people friendly program of Rehabilitation, Resettlement and reintegration of all displaced communities throughout the region.”
According to the communique read by CNG National Coordinator, Jamilu Aliyu Charanchi, “Collective efforts will be geared in fighting kidnapping, armed banditry, farmer-herders conflict, cattle rustling, criminal abduction for ransom, ethno-religious tensions, stigmatization, out-of-school children, youth restiveness, political thuggery, and drug abuse among other crimes in the North.”
CNG stressed the need for forging close ties and strong synergy, between and amongst all the three tiers of government, in order to effectively tackle the insecurity menace ravaging the region.
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The communique further stated that: “After a detailed review of the recent successes achieved by the security forces in the ongoing fight against the armed bandits, the Interactive Session strongly emphasised the importance of deploying robust and adequate usage of the non- kinetic approach, with a view to mobilizing the participation of the whole of society in the war against the lingering insecurity challenges.
“Participants equally expressed the firm view, that, in line with international best practice, it is widely expected, that governments at all levels must rise up to the challenge of providing tangible support and meaningful assistance to the devastated communities to facilitate their speedy recovery.”
The communique added that, “participants agreed to partner and explore every means towards changing the narrative in addressing the security challenges facing the region, from negative to positive narratives so as to dissuade the law abiding public from participating in the prevailing social vices.”
CNG, however, appealed to governments at all levels to create a conducive climate aimed at fostering Community Dialogue and Peace Building with a view to the full restoration of security, industrial growth and prosperity in the northern region and the nation as a whole.
The communique further stated that, “efforts will be geared to educate the citizens on how to support the governments at all levels towards promoting good governance, and addressing societal challenges that will usher in sustainable growth and development.
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“Participants also resolved to use the partnership as a platform to change the mindset of Northern youths, in order to engage them in productive ventures and to avoid any form of involvement in restiveness and criminality, and to call on well meaning individuals to support this initiative.
“Participants reaffirmed their determination to develop narratives that will encourage state governors to look inwards towards harnessing the potentials of the region especially, modern Agriculture, Small-Scale Businesses, that will assist people of the region to get out of the current socio-economic challenges.”
