The chairman of the Northern Governors Forum, Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima has called on South East leaders to caution the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu, against his “excesses.”
Shettima made the call while speaking to journalists after a closed door meeting with the Arewa youth groups over the weekend.
The governor said the purpose of the meeting was to find a peaceful resolution to the issues raised by the group and to douse tension across Nigeria.
According to Shettima, the challenges facing the nation was largely political, which he suggested, required political solutions.
He said, “The dialogue option was chosen because a political problem often requires a political solution. It is only a fool that doesn’t change his mind to review decisions and strategies. There is never a limit to who should be engaged in dialogue no matter what the situation is.
“After all, even armed conflicts of deaths and destructions often end through dialogue with persons who took up arms against a state.
“Some people may think the withdrawal of eviction ultimatum by the coalition wouldn’t mean so much but to us as leaders and from our experiences, it is always dangerous to underestimate the capacity of any group of youths especially when youths come together and seem determined.
“There are millions of other youths that might have been following and supportive of the activities of the coalition of Arewa groups and as we know, issues relating to ethnicity and religion mostly get out of control.
“As Northern governors, we do not take chances on potential violence unless on issues beyond our control.
“I wish to call on the leadership of our brethren in the South-east to equally seize the gauntlet to rein in the excesses of Nnamdi Kanu and co.”
