I Never Paid Herdsmen To Appease Them :– Governor Nasir El-Rufai

Mallam Nasir El Rufai, the governor ​Kaduna State has said that he never paid herdsmen money in order to either appease or arm them as widely reported in the media. The governor who denied payment of killer herdsmen through his spokesman, Mr Samuel Aruwan, said he only resuscitated former Governor Patrick Yakowa’s initiative by  persuading  aggrieved Fulanis to forgive the losses  which they suffered in the 2011 post-election violence.

Mr Aruwan who lamented the distortion of what the governor said in an interview with some journalists last week, said that ‘’government is combining security action with dialogue and peace building efforts in Southern Kaduna. ’’According to the governor’s spokesman, ‘’

El-Rufai has continued what was admirable in the peace efforts of late Governor Patrick Yakowa, and would do whatever is legitimate to secure lasting peace in the area.’’Aruwan  pointed out that the late Yakowa  tried to foster reconciliation with the affected Fulani communities, in order to stem the spiral of vengeance and reprisals. ‘’Yakowa’s efforts were not sustained after his death and violence persisted. 

When it became our responsibility to provide security for the state, we re-established these contacts so that those who felt they lost in the 2011 violence could let by gones be bygones,’’ he explained. Aruwan also pointed out   that ‘’the quest for peace and the imperative of stemming human suffering requires leaders to explore conventional and unusual means to build peace. That is why the Kaduna State government is combining security action with dialogue and peace-building efforts in southern Kaduna. ’’The governor’s media aide further said that El-Rufai built on Yakowa’s peace building efforts by setting up the General Martin Luther Agwai Peace and Reconciliation Committee to look into the crises in Southern Kaduna. ”Aruwan said that the Agwai Committee  report identified  three categories of Fulanis that were affected by the 2011 post-election violence which was the root cause of the Southern Kaduna crises.

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