A former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, has appealed to President Bola Tinubu to stop the violence currently tearing the nation apart.
He urged him not to toe the path of his predecessors who only mourned victims of killings in press statements, thereby reducing themselves to mourners-in-chief instead of taking responsibility as commanders-in-chief.
Dogara spoke in Jos, Plateau State, on Saturday, when he led some serving and former members of the House of Representatives on a condolence visit to the Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang, following the recent massacre of about 200 people in Bokkos, Mangu and Barkin Ladi local Government Areas by terrorists
He urged the President to rise to the occasion and use every available means to locate the perpetrators and sponsors of violence across the country and bring them to justice.
Dogara maintained that those responsible for the genocide must be stopped.
He said, “The perpetrators of this violence are not just crazy but are very dangerous, and the truth is that they won’t just stop until we stop them. We must stop them. Who has the responsibility to stop them? It is the Commander-in-Chief, but previously, they reduced themselves to mourners-in-chief instead.
Responding, Mutfwang expressed gratitude to the former Speaker for always identifying with the state and urged him not to be silent but to keep pushing for the interest of the people.
“There is a deliberate orchestrated plan to cause mayhem so as to discomfort us. We may be knocked down, but we are not knocked out. Our spirits are not broken. God has placed us where we are, and He will preserve us, ” he said.
The governor who expressed regret that the killings had continued unabated on the Plateau for years noted that Nigeria risks becoming like Somalia if the security challenge confronting it is not addressed
Gunmen, on Christmas Eve, attacked 25 communities in three Local Government Areas of Plateau State, killing over 200 people.
The attacks, which affected Barkin Ladi, Bokkos and Mangu LGAs, led to the displacement of over 10,000 residents of the attacked communities.
