Following Sunday’s killing of over 100 citizens in Plateau State by suspected herdsmen, the Ambassador of the United States of America to Nigeria, W. Stuart Symington, has called on the Federal Government to stop the increasing killing of innocent people across the country in order to ensure peace and development of the country.
The envoy said this in his address during events lined up to celebrate 242 years of Independence for the United States of America, held at the US Embassy in Abuja on Tuesday night even as he noted that the US government and its agencies are investing with Nigerians in a partnership for people, peace, and prosperity.
“Nigeria’s leaders and citizens have it in their power to make this killing stop now, if you are united across all regions, all occupations, and all faiths. When you act together with sincerity and high purpose and sustained effort, you will end this violence,” he said.
The envoy pointed out that the US and Nigeria are working together to save lives from disease, violence, and hunger. He added that there is no place with more at stake for the future of the World than Nigeria. “Every day, all across this land, we work with good people to save lives and bend upwards the curve of economic growth, so that real opportunity and hope will outpace need. But, far too often, we see the deaths of innocents whose hopes are stopped forever, by those whose awful acts reflect no good and serve no cause. These innocents must not be forgotten,” he said.
He said further that security that lasts depends on strong citizens who support each other and their governments, adding that it is as much a product of trust forged by opportunities shared and rules fairly enforced on level playing fields as it is the product of force wisely applied to answer threats.
The envoys message follows an earlier one by President Donald Trump at a joint press conference in April in Washington D.C, urging the Muhammadu Buhari led government to tackle the incessant killings of Christians in the country by so called ‘Fulani Herdsmen’.
Meanwhile President Muhamamdu Buhari is currently redesigning his security apparatuses to respond effectively to current challenges across the country.
It is however not immediately in public knowledge the form and structure such redesigning will take. This is part of the outcome of the President’s meeting with Senate President, Bukola Saraki and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara over the unending spate of killings across the country, at his official residence this morning.
The President had used the early morning meeting to brief the National Assembly principal officer before proceeding to preside over the weekly Federal Executive Council ( FEC) meeting at the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa, Abuja
The meeting which held behind closed was said to have been at the instance of the Principal Officers of the National Assembly.
Speaking with newsmen after the meeting, Senate President Saraki, said the President briefed the principal officers of his planned response to halt the security challenges. Saraki, while commiserating with the affected all families, said the National Assembly leadership will also pay a visit to Plateau state.
“It is our own intention to also go and pay our own condolence visit to the people of Plateau,” Saraki said.
“Our general appeal at the end of the day is that we all live together in peace and harmony and we will continue to do our best to see that this kind of thing does not happen again.” Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, also confirmed that President Buhari is restructuring the security system to deal with the issues.
According to him” The president has taken enough steps, these are security issues, not matters that you can discuss but he has told us what he is doing, the reorganization that he plans to put in place to ensure that this doesn’t happen again.”
“He has briefed us on what he saw first-hand when he visited Plateau yesterday and measures being put in place to ensure that we do not have a relapse or a recurrence.
“These are very sober moments for all of us in a situation where people in hundreds are continued to be killed and we can no longer tolerate this kind of situation as a government. Whatever it is we must not lose the fight against violence because we can’t lose that fight and still keep our civilization.
“If you go to the north east you can see the level of devastation caused by Boko Haram everything resembling progress from schools to hospitals to government institutions, everything has been pulled down. And we don’t want a replication of this all over the country.”
