By Ismaila Chafe
President Muhammadu Buhari has condemned the current attacks on the people of Kona in Taraba State, and ordered security forces to end the violence immediately and decisively.
Buhari, in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, in Abuja on Wednesday, warned that attacks on innocent people in the name of revenge or whatever motives, would not be tolerated by the government.
He said: “No group of people has the right to surround innocent people and unleash murderous violence on them.”
According to him, resorting to self-help is an invitation to anarchy which in turn will make everyone unsafe.
The president noted that in a cycle of violence, characterised by revenge and counter-revenge, there were no winners.
He said that in a state of permanent hostilities, people undermined not only law and order, but also their own ability to conduct their everyday businesses in peace.
“I always wonder how people can conduct their businesses in the absence of peace and tranquility because violence ruins everything and leaves the people worse off.
“It is difficult to build a virile nation where hate and intolerance dominate the people’s minds. It is easier to destroy than to build. People should count the economic costs of this violence to their own lives.”
According to the President, a situation where community leaders abandon their responsibilities and allow thugs to set the agenda, it is dangerous for peace and security in the country.
He criticised leaders “who publicly preach the virtues of peace, but privately promote hate and intolerance which ultimately culminate in violent destruction of life and property’’.
