*Urges FG, NEMA, Kaduna State govt to come to their aid
By Ralph Christopher, with agency reports
The Southern Kaduna People’s Union (SOKAPU) yesterday urged the government to secure and rebuild their communities which were affected by the series of attacks, saying the more than 700 of their relations were killed and over100,000 displaced.
The National Youth Leader of SOKAPU, Comrade John Isaac, said the southern parts of Kaduna State, comprising of Jema’a, Jaba, Kagarko, Kachia, Sanga, Kaura, Kauru, Zangon Kataf, Lere, Kajuru and Chickun LGAs, had been ravaged by criminal activities of armed herdsmen for years.
He expressed worry that rather than take on the issue as it ought to be, both the Kaduna State and the federal governments were not doing much, rather, were acting as if they were in total support of their attackers.
According to him, approximately 900,000 people had been adversely affected, with over 100,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), spread in 10 camps, provided mostly by religious organisations, with hundreds of millions worth of farm produce destroyed.
According to him, “many of the affected residents now live in IDP camps, with host families away from their original homes and in host communities.
“Many host communities are severely stressed, having to cater for the large influx of displaced people from places directly hit by the attacks.
“These attacks have also resulted in extensive damage to social, economic, health and market infrastructure. Numerous homes have been destroyed.
“Many schools, hospitals, markets and places of worship have been destroyed or closed.
“Many communities have been completely abandoned, especially in parts of Chickun, Kajuru and Zangon-Kataf LGAs”.
Comrade Isaac explained that while there was still a semblance of economic and agricultural activities in some parts of the affected communities, the economy of most of such communities were at the verge of collapse as farmers, for the fear of being killed, could no longer go to their farms.
While the SOKAPU Youth Wing commended the peace initiative of the Kaduna State Government following the ‘House of Kaduna Family’’, he said achieving peace and tranquility in the area will require bringing an end to the killings, culprits identified and brought to book and effective handling of the humanitarian crisis and implementation of an effective reintegration and rebuilding programmes, as well as the effective reconstruction of social and physical infrastructures across the affected communities.
He solicited adequate security and conducive atmosphere for agricultural activities to thrive.
“SOKAPU Youth Wing is against this backdrop, urging both the Federal and State Governments and their agencies, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the Kaduna State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Kaduna State Ministry in charge of riots, damages, rehabilitations, and resettlements to, as a matter of urgency, act fast in rebuilding ravaged communities and reintegrating families and persons displaced by this senseless acts of terror,” he said.
