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FG orders dialogue to curb Northerners’ exodus from South
Written by Olawale Rasheed, Abuja Sunday, 15 January 2012
Worried by silent exodus of Northerners from Southern Nigeria, the Federal Government has directed security
agencies to organise inter-ethnic and religious dialogue across the Southern states with a view to building confidence among indigenes, settlers and faithful of the various religions.
Sunday Tribune reliably gathered that security reports on the exodus have become very alarming as the trend is increasing, rather than decreasing even with the fuel subsidy crisis in the country.
While the movement of Northerners was on, prior to the nationwide strike, it was learnt that the tension and fears of possible reprisal attacks by Southerners, due to Boko Haram killing of Igbo, has not died down, despite pledges of no retaliation by the Igbo.
An administration source told the Sunday Tribune that the exodus constituted greater security threat to the nation than the on-going fuel subsidy crisis, adding that “we are having a repeat of events of the First Republic at hand.”
Reports reaching Abuja was said to have indicated a rising wave of anti-Arewa sentiments across the 17 Southern states, a development the authorities fear may explode into open attacks, unless something urgent is done.
A major strategy adopted, Sunday Tribune learnt, was dialogue meetings in each town coordinated by the intelligence community and built around the traditional rulers of each town alongside leaders of ethnic groups resident in each town.
Sunday Tribune was told that in each town, leaders of Igbo, Yoruba and Hausa communities were encouraged to dialogue, with emphasis on the danger of reprisal attacks and the need to explore the democratic structure for venting of grievances.
Each state director of the State Security Service (SSS) and commissioner of police were said to be involved in the dialogue sessions which are said to be holding across the Southern states, days before the strike action.
Sunday Tribune can confirm that the dialogue sessions were held across the six states of the South-West with a renewed pledge of Yoruba leaders that both the Hausa and the Igbo were safe in Yorubaland.
An Islamic cleric, Sheikh Imran Adio, who participated in the session in Osun State, told Sunday Tribune that the session was held across the state with assurance given to the Igbo and Hausa communities.
The same report was given from other Yoruba states, with another Islamic cleric in Lagos, Sheikh Suleiman Farouk Onikijipa, confirming that confidence-building measures and meetings were being put in place and held to assure all of unity and peace of the country.
Reports on the dialogue sessions from the South-East and the South-South were, however, mixed as, despite the continuous assurances from leaders of the zone, Northerners are still moving out in very high numbers.
It was learnt that the strike action had assisted security agents, especially as the work to rule stopped the exodus for some days, a movement the federal establishment feels may resume once the strike action is suspended.
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News headlines
- Youths awaiting Buhari heckle Jega’s convoy •At Emir of Kazaure’s daughter wedding
- Jos house raid: Security forces uncover bomb factory •Recover deadly weapons
- Forget presidency in 2015, AYF tells Northern govs
- Power supply: NASS’ joint committee orders suspension of badly-done projects in Rivers
- JTF smashes oil theft syndicate •Impounds 36,000 litre tanker, 26 surface tanks, 300 drums of diesel
- Sambo urges Boko Haram to dialogue with FG
- Rep, PDP leaders berate LG boss over workers’ sack
- OOU’s new Pro-Chancellor cautions on strikes, extends olive branch
- Oshiomhole condemns politics of ethnicity
- Proposed FRSC scrapping: Govt lacks sense of history —Agunloye