NATIONAL ORIENTATION AGENCY (NOA) KATSINA STATE DIRECTORATE WELCOME ADDRESS BY THE STATE DIRECTOR NOA, MALAM MUNTARI LAWAL TSAGEM AT A STAKEHOLDERS MEETING ON RURAL SECURITY WATCH ORGANIZED BY THE AGENCY AT THE CONFERENCE HALL OF FEDERAL SECRETARIAT COMPLEX, DANDAGORO KATSINA,
01/07/2025
PROTOCOL
It is my honour and privilege to welcome you to this very important event. As part of its role in the implementation of the National Action Plan for Peace Building between Herders and Communities in Nigeria, the National Orientation Agency (NOA) has embarked on a nationwide stakeholders engagement with a view to discuss ideas on how to restore peaceful coexistence and national unity among diverse ethnic groups, particularly in the country herders, farmers and some communities who have been at loggerheads for decades.
Distinguish participants, there are a lot of security challenges that are currently threatening our national unity and development. For example, there is Insurgency in Northeast, Secessionist Agitations in Southeast and Southsouth, Youth Restiveness in the Southwest, and Banditry and Kidnapping in Northwest and North central. But, the herders-farmers clash is spread almost everywhere in the country and has adversely affected everyone in this meeting, participants will discuss the causes and impacts of insecurity in our rural areas and suggest effective ways of resolving them. Katsina State has been calm and peaceful before the arm banditry, kidnapping and cattle rustling became rampant in the state.
The initial causes of the problems must be identified and addressed, so that they will not resurface when the current situation is eventually controlled and done away with. It will affect the socioeconomic life of the country.
Alhamdu Lillah! Peaceful agreements are being initiated and worked on between herders and farmers in some Local Government areas of Katsina State. But the question now are, how can these agreements be maintained or sustained?
How can we heal the wounds in the hearts of those who lost their loved ones and valuable properties during the conflicts? NOA really recognizes the unprecedented efforts His Excellency Malam Dikko Umar Radda, the Executive Governor of Katsina State, is making to bring back peace in the state. We must attribute the improvement being recorded now in the state security to that efforts of the state Governor.
However, we are appealing to the state Government to recognize and support the peace building efforts going on at various security challenged local governments and at community levels in the state.
NOA also appreciate the commitments of our gallant Security Agencies in dealing with these challenges in the state. We salute them and pray for them to succeed. We also appeal to farmers, herdsmen and all communities involved in Katsina State to embrace peace and cooperate with the state government in its efforts to end the activities of criminals, majority of whom comes from outside the state and attack our innocent citizens.
Distinguish participants, as I said, your contributions in this meeting will be used in the implementation of the country’s Action Plan on peace building between herders and farmers and in addressing others, similar challenges.
I welcome you once again to this meeting and I thank you for listening.