Abubakar Bawa Bwari
The Minister of State for Mines and Steel Development, Abubakar Bawa Bwari has called for peace just as he condoned with families of those who lost their lives and all those affected by the violence in Bwari, FCT.
In a statement personally signed by the minister, he expressed shock at the incidence saying that “violence is totally at variance with our way of life as a people.”
The statement reads: “I want to begin by condemning the violence that erupted recently in Bwari which claimed lives and properties and left scores injured. All the victims have my deepest sympathy.
“I am deeply shocked by the incident which is totally at variance with our way of life as a people. The people of Bwari, and indeed the Gbagyi speaking people as a whole, are known for their peaceful, law abiding nature, their ability to live in harmony with everyone.
“I visited the scenes of the mayhem, and I was appalled at the unprecedented level of violence and feel constrained to lend my voice to those calling for a peaceful resolution of whatever may have led to the crisis. We must learn to resolve issues with our heads rather than with our hands. Violence does not solve anything.
“What happened in Bwari during the last festivities therefore, at a period when people were supposed to be celebrating Christmas and anticipating the coming New Year, was morally reprehensible and completely at variance with our culture and our religious leanings.
“In the history of Bwari, and in fact that of the Gbagyi speaking areas that was excised to form the Federal Capital Territory, one thing that has always been consistent is the generous nature of our people, their basic honesty and decency. I am sure this played a very big role in the decision to bring the Federal Capital to our ancestral home.
“We are proud to cede our lands for this most vital project and we consider it honourable to do so. We have always done all we can to ensure that those who have come to live amongst us get to enjoy our famous hospitality and our pleasant nature and we shall continue to do so because it is our nature.
“Violence is never right whatever the level of provocation. We are a nation of law and anyone who takes the law into their hands or does anything to jeopardise the peace of the land deserves our collective condemnation.
The Minister said although in recent times, Nigeria has experienced increase in violent tendencies, but expressed the shock that until now, Bwari was never in the news for any violent occurrence.
“The people of Bwari, especially our vibrant youth must imbibe the culture of peace, accommodation and tolerance which is our heritage. Collectively, we must vow to do everything in our power to ensure that we never allow this sort of ugly incident in our communities.
“Nigerians must learn to follow legal procedures rather than take matters into their own hands, especially now that we have a government we can trust, a government that takes the Rule of Law very seriously.
“I extend my deepest condolences to those who lost their lives, properties or means of livelihood in the fracas. I pray that this is the last we have seen of this sort of thing.
“I sympathise with various public and private institutions and businesses operating in Bwari whose services were disrupted by the incident or who suffered anxiety because of it.
He thanked security agencies for their prompt response and expressed hope that they will work hard to discourage re-occurrence of crisis and charged them to investigate the cause of the incident and bring the culprits to book.
