Boko Haram: Northern Monarchs Meet Jonathan, Urge Dialogue

Traditional rulers from the northern part of the country, under the aegis the Northern Traditional Rulers Council, on Monday presented a position paper to President Goodluck Jonathan on how best to tackle the violence by members of the Islamic sect, Boko Haram.

Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar

The traditional rulers led by the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, presented the report at a meeting held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

At the end of the meeting that lasted about an hour, the council’s secretary, who is also the Emir of Kazaure, Alhaji Najeem Adamu, told journalists that they suggested dialogue and amnesty as parts of the strategies aimed at ending the violence.

Adamu said the traditional rulers warned that granting of amnesty to the sect should be done properly and not haphazardly as some people would expect.

He said, “The meeting was about the state of the nation, the security challenges we are facing.

“We recommended the use of dialogue as one of the strategies to resolve the security challenge and at the same time to devise strategies that will encourage or lay the foundation for sustainable peace in this country.

“Our presentation was preceded by long time discussion and deliberation. In a nutshell, what we sought to do is to give our views having regards to our background, our knowledge of various societies, various communities what we think should be done to resolve the crisis and ensure sustainable peace in the country.

“The issue of amnesty came up. It formed part of the strategies we are recommending but of course, it has to be done properly with better appreciation of the situation rather than haphazardly which people think should be the case.

“We believe that we have to give very serious consideration and make sure that whatever we do is sustainable.”

Minister of Information, Labaran Maku, also told journalists that the meeting centered on how to resolve the crisis.

He said, “The issues raised in the paper concern the ongoing efforts by the Federal Government, particularly on the security challenge.”

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