Traditional leaders urge govt to spell out their roles, pledge to tackle insecurity

By SADIQ ABUBAKAR, Maiduguri –

Traditional leaders have called on the Federal Government to assign specific constitutional roles to them so as to contribute their own quota to national growth and development.

They made the call on Thursday in Maiduguri during a workshop organized by Allamin Foundation for Peace and Development, which is a locally based Non Governmental Organization working on transitional justice for victims of Boko Haram insurgency in Borno State.

No fewer than 60 traditional and religious leaders in Borno Emirate Council attended the workshop.

The stakeholders also suggested that every state in the north East region should established an orphanage homes within the palace of the traditional rulers in other to accommodate missing children.

Similarly, the stakeholders unanimously agreed that the Kanemi Borno cultural heritage and values does not support or allow group divorce, marriage of women and girls. They however, recommended an agricultural empowerment scheme for women to farm and produce for the family in order to be self reliant.

They also recommended for the merger of Islamic schools and scholars with the traditional rulers as obtained in the past where traditional leaders rule with the support and cooperation of the school headmasters in their communities. The stakeholders also appealed to the community leaders and elite to continue to play their significant role of being sponsors, financiers and trustees of community schools in their locations.

The stakeholders called for synergy and cooperation between the security agencies in their areas with the traditional rulers in safeguarding lives and property of the citizenry, while reiterating that commitment and support to peace building, reconciliation and reintegration

They further appreciated Allamin Foundation’s innovations and strategies of doing things and showing concern for the women and girl child especially victims and survivors of the insurgency, stressing the need for government policy framework on victims and survivors of Boko Haram.

Earlier, in her opening remark, the Executive Director of Allamin Foundation, Hajiya Hamsatu Allamin, urged the leaders who are the participants to avail themselves to the aims and objectives of the workshop which is targeted at getting feedbacks from them in the charter of demands of the deradicalized women and girls, who are widows, survivors and victims of the Boko Haram insurgency.

She added that the workshop was aimed at digesting the opinions of the leaders as community representatives and stakeholders, who are more closer to their people and directly relate with their subjects as well know the challenges and needs of their people with a view to impress on government to come out with policies and interventions that can have a direct bearing on the lives of the victims of insurgency.

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