… as Yuguda calls for criminalization of religious intolerance
Concerned about the hundreds
of lives that Nigeria loses
occasionally to the Boko Haram insurgency in the North Eastern part of the
country, Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State has volunteered to
wade into the crisis to stop further bloodshed.
Speaking at the reception for
the dedication of his grand children in Owerri Governor
Okorocha stated that he stood in a better position to engage the terrorists in
a dialogue to end the war in the region, because according to him, he is a
detribalised Nigerian with Igbo parentage and who was born and bred in the
North and made wealthy by the West.
He disclosed that he was in
talks with his governor colleagues to see to get their support to see how the
insurgency could stop.
The governor described his
grand twins as the most important blessings of his life, adding that his in-law,
Uche Nwosu, was becoming more acceptable to the people of the state,
considering the thousands of people that turned out for the event starting from
the church.
He added that Nwosu, a
commissioner for Lands in the state, had become a rallying point for his
administration through whom some of his enemies had come to belief in his Rescue
Mission government.
Speaking earlier, the
governor of Bauchi State, Mallam Isa Yuguda,
condemned the present violence in the North, calling for the country to
criminalize and fight against any act of religious intolerance and their
sponsors.
He said every true Muslim
recognizes Jesus Christ and Virgin Mary and must believe that Christ is coming
back and should have no need to fight one another.
The Bauchi governor, who also
cited instances where Christians had protected Muslims, expressed shock that
some people were using religion to fight political battle in the country.
He said having visited over
75 countries in the world, he realized that Nigeria is the most blessed country
in the world in terms of natural and human resources with no single trace of
natural disaster, saying that most of the disasters that occur, including the
flood that ravaged the country in the past, were man-made.
Earlier, Yuguda described
Okorocha as a nationalistic and highly detribalized Nigerian who had invested
much into philanthropy taking care of children across the nation, concluding
that the Imo governor was one of the few Nigeria needs for a peaceful
co-existence.
