… Prays with IDP’s who returned to Konduga
Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima on Monday abandoned the massive Ramat Square Eid Praying ground in Maiduguri metropolis for Konduga, one of the liberated communities in the state to attend the Eid prayers.
Kashim was accompanied to Konduga by the Director-General, National Orientation Agency, Dr Garba Abari, Senator Baba Kaka Bashir Garbai representing Borno Central, Senator Abubakar Kyari, representing Borno North, the Speaker, Borno Assembly, security chiefs in the state , State Assembly members, Commissioners and other officials for the Eid prayers.
Konduga town, which is a few minutes’ drive to Maiduguri is one community that was under the control of the Boko Haram insurgents since 2014 despites its proximity to Maiduguri. Hundreds of IDPs have returned back to Konduga barely two weeks ago.
The two raka’ats (Eid prayer) was led by the Imam Eidaini of Konduga, Imam Goni Lawan who later, symbolically slaughtered his Ram in the presence of Governor Shettima to pave way for other worshipers to slaughter theirs.
Speaking after the prayers, Shettima disclosed that his spirit is with all the liberated communities regardless of the choice of attending the Eid prayers in Konduga.
His words; “Konduga is not more important to us than Askira Uba where two Emirs have returned, it is not more important to us than Gwoza which is bigger and more populated, Konduga is also not more important to us than Monguno, Kukawa, Damboa, Ngala, Dikwa or any other part of the State where our citizens have returned, we chose Konduga because of proximity to Maiduguri given the fact that some of those working with me need to go back and slaughter their rams which are mostly in Maiduguri and they also need time with their families while we have other activities scheduled at the Government House in Maiduguri.
“So, Konduga is a mere symbol in this instance which represents all the communities where our people have returned. We are here in solidarity with them, to celebrate the Sallah with them, to strengthen the fact that they are no less important than those who were not affected by the insurgency, to reaffirm our commitment to resettlement of IDPS. We came to share this moment with them and to also reassure them that we wouldn’t have allowed them to return to Konduga if it was classified unsafe, this is why we are here with them.
“We are determined to restore the dignity of our people, to reinstall civil authority, to rebuild their schools, hospitals, markets and homes so they can return to safe homes and I want to reiterate that we will not allow our citizens to return to unsafe communities. The good thing about peace is that peace doesn’t require stating or propaganda, peace manifests, it shows itself where it evolves and people respond to it by going to peaceful places. There are some of our IDPS that we didn’t even know when they started returning to their communities months ago. Through their local information gathering mechanism they got to know that peace had returned to their communities and they responded by going back in groups.
“No matter how you try to make someone return to any community, they will naturally not respond without independently confirming whether there is peace or not. We will continue to dedicate ourselves to supporting our security establishments, the civilian JTF and hunters to sustain the peace we have but while we do that, we will insha Allah pick up the pieces of our lives,” Shettima said.
He charged the people to take advantage of the peace and wake up change their lives, while wishing them happy Sallah and the entire country.
“We will not wait till eternity before picking up the pieces of our lives. I want to use this opportunity to wish the people of Borno State and all Nigerians Barka da Sallah and urge all of us to rededicate ourselves to good deeds, increased faith and selfless sacrifice which are the three key messages of the Eid Adha.
“I urge the people of Borno State to reach out to poor neighbours. Part of the essence of slaughtering rams is to share the meat with the needy, with those who couldn’t afford to make the sacrifice and not for us to slaughter rams and share with rich neighbors or to share rams and store in refrigerators to take care of our menus for months to come, the meat is meant to be shared with the needy. We should always remember the downtrodden at every step of the way. Borno is known for hospitality and that hospitality should be demonstrated through good neighborliness and peaceful coexistence. Those embarking on celebrations should not contemplate breaking our laws; they should be orderly and peaceful. Once again, I wish all of us Barka da Sallah,” the Governor said.
Report across the state indicates that the celebration was hitch free.
The Borno State Commissioner of Police Demain Chukwu told our correspondent that all his Area Commands across the state have reported no breach of peace.
My Area Commands have reported no incident of any terror attack before, during or after the prayers. We thank God for the peace that is returning to the state and we pray for its sustenance,” CP Chukwu said.
