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To secure life and property as well as find lasting peace in Kebbi State, the government has engaged Islamic religious preachers to educate communities of Fulani herders against crime.
Special Adviser to the Governor on Security Matters, Alhaji Garba Kamba, led the sensitisation, which was flagged off in Illo town, Bagudo Council.
Delivering his welcome address, the Sensitisation Committee Chairman, Abdullahi Imam Shema, said the aim of the meeting was to promote attitudinal change among Fulani communities on the growing herders-farmers’ clashes, kidnapping, cattle rustling and other crimes in the state.
Shema said Governor Abubakar Bagudu was worried by the growing criminality, especially by suspected Fulani herders in the country, hence he set up a committee of Islamic preachers under the Kebbi State Council of Ulamas, to sensitise communities on the need for peaceful coexistence, the pursuit of lawful business and the fear of God, as enshrined in the Holy Quran, for the overall development of the state and country.
Explaining that the preaching was also aimed at sensitising the public on the fear of God in their day-to-day activities, the chairman warned that when people transgress, God would afflict them with so many trials, diseases and hunger.
Special Adviser to the State Governor on Security Matters, who is also a member of the committee, Garba Kamba, said the government found it imperative to interact with the public on security matters and engage the Ulamas to preach to the Fulani in their local dialect for the understanding of the dangers of engaging in criminality.
Security, he noted, is everybody’s business, considering the security situation in the country.
He called on the communities to enrol their wards in schools to acquire Western and Islamic education to be useful members of the society.
In their remarks, Sheikh Aliyu Bunza, Sheikh Usman Damana, Abubakar Kalgo, Yusuf Suru, Ibrahim Bayawa, Umar Jega and Muhammadu Dankarami described the effort of the Kebbi government to sensitise the Fulani and other communities as a welcome development.
The clerics centred their sermon on the dangers of terrorism and other violent crimes in Islam, citing the scripture. They called on the communities to put what they have learnt into practice for the development of the country.
In his remark, the Chairman of Bagudo Council, Muhammad Dan-Hakimi, expressed appreciation to the commitment of the state government in the sensitisation of communities, especially those of Fulani cattle breeders, across the state.
Other members of the committee are the representatives of the Emir of Gwandu and Miyeti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria.
The committee also visited Argungu emirate for the sensitisation. Receiving the committee in his palace, the Emir of Argungu, Alhaji Samaila Mera, commended the state government for embarking on the sensitisation.
