By Usman Abubakar, in Maiduguri
The four Lake Chad basin countries may soon establish a forum of traditional rulers of communities troubled by terror around the basin as a potent weapon in the war against the menace.
The forum is to serve as a platform for the royal fathers to deepen crossborder consultation among themselves on various issues affecting the region as well as observing suspicious persons and movements to nip any emerging insecurity in the bud.
Representatives of the traditional rulers from the four countries converged on Maiduguri for a two-day deliberations preluding the 5th Lake Chad Basin Governors Forum organized by the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC) and slated for January 29 to 31.
The Governors Forum meeting, to be hosted by Nigeria’s Yobe State will be chaired by Yobe’s Governor, Mai Mala Buni.
At their two-day meeting, which opened on Monday, January 27, the royal fathers will make recommendations to the Governors’ Forum which will extend same to the governments of the four LCBC member countries to galvanize the support of the governments and all other critical stakeholders in the Basin’s affairs.
“We are trying to have a forum that will unite us to be consulting each other and discussing the insecurity bedeviling the region and other issues,” the Emir of Fika and Chairman of the Yobe State Council of Traditional Rulers, Dr. Muhammadu Ibn Abali Idrissa, told newsmen.
“We are very desirous of strengthening amity among us to help each other in checking suspicious activities in our respective communities and such other things as proliferation of small arms across our communities,” the Yobe monarch butterflies explained further.
“We are happy to be part of the Governors meeting to deliberate on the various issues affecting the region, combating insecurity and restoring order and development,” he said.
The Emir of Ndjamena, Chad Republic, Alhaji Muhammad Kachalla Kassim, corroborated the Emir of Fika, stressing, “We should be holding regular consultations among us to facilitate the restoration of security and development across the region.”
“You, our Royal Fathers, possess the wisdom, authority, and deep understanding of local dynamics and norms that are essential for sustainable peace-building efforts,” the Managing Director of the North-East Development Commission (NEDC), Mohammed Goni Alkali, had said in his opening remarks.
“Your role in mediating conflicts, promoting social harmony, and preserving our cultural values is more critical now than ever before,” he said.
