The Secretary, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Kaduna State chapter, Rev. Sunday Ibrahim has called on the government to punish those who violate the laws of the land.
He said it would help in curtailing most of the excesses of violence in the country.
Ibrahim made the call at a one-day Project Planning Meeting on Community Initiative to Promote Peace, (CIPP), organised by Interfaith Mediation Centre, (IMC) supported by United States Agency for International Development, (USAID) in Kaduna on Tuesday.
According to him, government does not need to use force in handling all crises, but can apply the wisdom of dialoguing with the people and try to know the causes of some of the issues.
The CAN Scribe said that the issue of Boko Haram was not handled with wisdom, adding that what is beginning to manifest with the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) needed wisdom to handle.
“There is need to dialogue with the group.
“I think the best thing to do is sit down and dialogue and shift grounds so that the needed peace would be enjoyed by both parties, because should anything happen, the masses are always at the receiving end.
“I also think that government has a larger part in maintaining peace in every society,” he said.
He also commended organisers of the event, saying IMC was doing very well alongside other organisations, but called for sincerity among participants of the workshop for effective implementation of the project.
“I look at it that quite a number of people are not serious even as we meet, because it seems like people gather to take tea and off they go, forgetting about what they have brainstormed on.
“But I want to sincerely advocate that all components will put their heads and synergise to make sure that what we are brainstorming on would be implemented.
“The Christian clerics here will go back and talk to their people to make sure that they implement what they tell them, likewise the Muslim clerics will tell their people to implement what they have heard,” he added.
Acting Director General, Kano State Sharia Commission, Mohammed Idris, said most of the crises bedeviling the country lies on family set up which is the most important unit in life, hence, the need to have a concrete family base, while government makes proper policy to tackle the challenges.
“If the husband fails to be responsible to his family he will have a broken home and this will lead to lots of issues.”
He said there are lots of other factors that lead to societal problems currently facing Northern states, especially in the area of drug abuse, impact of social media, and peer influence among others.
In his contribution, Coordinator, Early Warning, Early Response System of IMC, Mr. Samson Auta, informed newsmen that the meeting was on a project spanning five years to be executed beginning from 2019 to 2024.
He explained that part of what IMC intend to achieve is to restore peace in communities affected by conflicts or violence by working with women and religious groups, and among others with substantial role in creating more awareness or replicating the knowledge learnt at community level.
According to him, the project known as CIPP would involve six states in the two zones of North-West comprising Kaduna, Kano and Katsina, and North-Central states of Benue, Kogi and Plateau.
Auta said IMC would be working in about 24 Local Government Areas in each of the six states, totaling 96 LGAs.
He pointed out that the project planning meeting will identify participants from Kaduna, Kano and Katsina for them to understand the nitty-gritty of what the project is all about and be part of the planning before initiating the project.
“What we want to achieve is that participants in this planning meeting will have a better idea of what the project intends to achieve in the various communities.
“And for the participants to be carried along so that they see to the implementation processes and at the close out of the project.
“We intend to bring the same participants for them to see the impacts, whether there are changes in some of those violent issues in their communities.”
He added that the impact of the new initiatives created by the community members would determine the sustainability of the project after its funding elapse. (NAN)
