Don’t drag Kaduna into another cycle of violence, group warns El-Rufai  

A pro-democracy group, Transparency and Accountability Network (TAN), has warned a former governor of Kaduna state, Nasir el-Rufai, not to drag the state into another circle of violence, adding that the people of the state “cannot afford to be vulnerable again.”

The former governor has made some comments in the recent time against his successor and the current administration in the state.

Reacting to the development through a statement released Friday in Abuja, the group’s National Coordinator, Comrade Michael Briggs, said stability in Kaduna “reflects the stability not just in the North-west, but across the entire country.” 

The statement read in part, “Transparency and Accountability Network (TAN) as a civil society organisation committed to fostering peace, stability, and good governance in Nigeria, raises its voice in profound concern over the dark clouds gathering over Kaduna state. The fragile peace that has begun to take root in the state is under threat, and we cannot afford to stand idly by as shadows of chaos loom on the horizon.  

“Kaduna state, a land once vibrant with the promise of unity and progress, has been scarred by the relentless storms of violence and division. The people of Kaduna have endured enough, enough bloodshed, enough tears, and enough despair. The relative calm that now blankets the state is like a delicate sapling, struggling to grow in soil still poisoned by the remnants of conflict. We cannot allow this sapling to be uprooted by the reckless hands of those who seek to exploit chaos for their own ends.  

“We cannot risk undermining the trust of investors who are starting to come back to the state. The fledgling investments in Kaduna, nurtured by the return of confidence, are the tender shoots of economic growth. The state’s resurgence as a hub of commerce and industry must be sustained.”