The Shehu of Borno, Alhaji Umaru Ibn Garbai El-Kanemi, has said that he lost over 100 of his local chiefs to Boko Haram insurgents within the seven years of their atrocities .
The royal father also said that it will be a huge task for people to live together with the repentant Boko Haram insurgents after the atrocities they committed against the people of Borno.
The Shehu stated this when the delegation of African Region Centre For Humanitarian Dialogue (CMD), led by its director, Ms Meridith Preston Mcghie, paid a visit to his palace.
“How can you unite with people that destroyed your homes, killed and displaced you? We have suffered a lot. I lost more than 100 local chiefs under my kingdoms. I was attacked by suicide bomber, thousands of women became widows and children orphans. I think, to unite people with repentant insurgents is a big task,” Shehu told the delegation of Centre For Humanitarian Dialogue in Maiduguri yesterday.
The royal father used the opportunity to seek for assistance of the delegation to do everything possible to unite the people as it had done in two inter-communal dialogue in Plateau and Kaduna states.
“We need your assistance to reunite our people again, we as well know what you did in Kaduna and Plateau to solve inter- communal crisis. We will give you all the support to succeed,” said the monarch.
Earlier, the director, African Region Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, Ms. Meridith Preston McGhie disclosed that, CHD, is an independent international organization with the mandate of providing support, directly facilitate peace process, initiate dialogue between parties to conflict and are ready to talk to one another especially now that the IDPs and victims of insurgency have started returning to their original homes.
“The delegation will ensure proper communication so that things do not go out of control, emotions don’t get so high, the centre will adopt different channels of dialogue which will be a gradual process and usually takes longer period of time before peace is achieved in a crisis environment,” she said.
