Governor Kashim Shettima alongside the Director-General, National Orientation Agency, Dr Garba Abari on Monday observed Eid prayers in Konduga town which was one of the territories controlled by Boko Haram insurgents since 2014 when residents were murderously attacked and chased out of the town.
The insurgents had serially bombed public buildings including hospitals, schools, council secretariats, markets and private houses, forcing residents to flee and remained out for two years. Hundreds of the residents became internally displaced at Government controlled camps in Maiduguri.
With the coming of President Muhammadu Buhari however, the Nigerian Military took full control of the town early this year with Borno State Government embarking on reconstruction of public buildings which paved way for the return of hundreds of IDPs back to Konduga barely two weeks ago.
In solidarity with the returnees, Shettima on the Sallah day, departed Maiduguri at about 8:55am and arrived Konduga 9:45am in company of top Government officials including the D-G, 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 heads, State Assembly members, Commissioners and other officials for the Eid prayers.
The Governor was received by the council Chairman Audu Ladan and the district Head of Konduga, Alhaji Zanna Masu Yale at an Eid ground located along the District Head’s palace in Konduga township amidst a large turnout of former IDPS who returned to Konduga 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.
Governor Shettima explained his decision to mark the Eid prayers outside Maiduguri, the first time any sitting Governor would do that.
“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. 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.
