The Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum has met with a former Chief of Army Staff, Gen. Theophilus Danjuma (retd.) over the killings in parts of the country.
Participants at the meeting who included a Niger Delta leader, Chief Edwin Clark, and Yoruba leaders, Chief Ayo Adebanjo and Chief Olu Falae, sought Danjuma’s support to proffer solution to the carnage in Plateau, Benue, Taraba, Zamfara, Adamawa and other states.
Addressing journalists after the meeting which held at Danjuma’s residence in Asokoro, Abuja on Monday, the President-General of Igbo socio-cultural group, Ohanaeze, Chief Nnia Nwodo, disclosed that the Forum and Danjuma have resolved to embark on advocacy visits to all political and civil leaders in all the geo-political zones in order to stop the bloodshed.
He explained that the former CAS had agreed to lend his voice and reach out to other eminent persons to proffer solutions to the killings.
He noted that the advocacy against the current situation had become imperative to prevent the nation from sliding into anarchy and instability.
The Ndigbo leader pointed out that there is currently no strong political direction towards a solution to the killings, adding that the SMBLF decided to collaborate with all eminent persons in the country to use their influence to end the ongoing carnage.
“General TY Danjuma is an elder statesman and a non-partisan politician, but he is retired from both political and civil service obligations, but he remains a very strong neutral voice in our country and the Armageddon that has befallen us given the quantum of bloodshed that we waste on a daily basis and the lack of strong political direction regarding the solution.”
“We had a very useful discussion and as a father, he has promised that he will do everything within his power to ensure that he continues to be a voice of reason and a voice of reconciliation. He has promised to be a voice of advocacy for the correct way and path to follow in our polity,” Nwodo explained.
Asked if the forum discussed the issue of ranching, he said, “There is no reason for it to arise because it is part of the general issue that we raised regarding the instability in our country and the waste of blood.”
“We did not seek his (Danjuma’s) specific reaction on any of these points. We just wanted to bring to his attention the issues that we represent and our worry that the nation is sliding into chaos and we needed him as an elder statesman to advocate as the voice of reason diplomatically and quietly and now when it becomes necessary to ensure that we do not go into the armpit of instability,” Nwodo said.
