Former Nigerian Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon (rtd) has expressed fear that the unending killings in parts of the country was taking a religious dimension warning that if the authorities failed to stem the tide the the country could descend into a religious war.

The elder statesman who lamented over the security situation in the country particularly the killing of innocent unarmed villagers by armed herdsmen, which he said had continued unabated said he was disappointed at the manner the security situation in the country was being handled.
He spoke Saturday in Makurdi when he visited Governor Samuel Ortom to commiserate with the government and people of the state over the killings in the state.
Gen. Gowon said “I think security agencies should invite and question the leadership of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore who had earlier threatened to unleash violence on Benue State.”
The former Head of State who said he was out of the country when two priests and 17 worshipers were killed in a church in the state during a morning mass expressed the condolences of his group, “Nigeria Prays” to the government and people of the state.
He said, “I am sad and worried at the religious dimension the killings is assuming, the authorities should redouble their effort to deal with the security situation because if that is not done, the country could descend into a religious war, with no one coming out victorious.”
The former Head of State who commended Governor Ortom and the Benue State government for courageously handling the issues concerning the killings and devastation of communities in the state stressed that “for us to survive as a nation; we must learn to live together as one regardless of ethnicity or religion.”
Welcoming the elder statesman, Governor Ortom, represented by his deputy, Mr. Benson Abounu thanked him for coming to commiserate with the people and government of the state adding that his voice to the call on the federal government to take decisive actions to end the orgy of violence plaguing the state and the country was commendable.
He said the magnitude and frequency of the killings and devastation of communities in the state had defied every logic with over 185,000 people internally displaced as a result of the crisis and now living in camps, far away from their ancestral lands and their farms.
He explained that though the killings in the state had come down a little due to the change of tactics by the military who upgraded their operation in the state from “exercise cat race” to “operation whirl stroke”, the threat was not yet over as killings were still going on in many places.
He said that the country was at cross roads, with complaints coming from all sections of the nation state. According to him, the present structure of the Nigerian federation was sick and defective.
Governor Ortom said he agreed with the calls for restructuring, explaining that restructuring would eliminate many of the contradictions and imbalances that had limited the capacity of the federating states to flourish and maximize the benefit of their existence.

News From Zenithnaija.com


More below:

https://zenithnaija.com/killings-in-nigeria-could-lead-to-a-religious-war-if-not-stopped-gowon/

cc: Lalasticlala Fynestboi Mynd44

Restructuring is good,

But I thought buhari has be working towards that.

Like the issue of state police,and financial autonomy to different organ of government at different level.

PMB should try more to stop the already civil war going.

I thought this cowardly man just two weeks ago said he was satisfied with the way Buhari has handled the killings so far

Baba is working... Nigerians are flying

Nigeria Air

It would be stop by fire and force...

FarahAideed:
I thought this cowardly man just two weeks ago said he was satisfied with the way Buhari has handled the killings so far

Only a mad man asked for war in a locality he’s living and earning his or her living

Stop drumming war songs

It’s not a riot

War is terrible

This is where it might lead to

That’s why I stopped and dropped my support for Mr President

He’s the commander in Chief

madridguy:
PMB should try more to stop the already civil war going.

this person should be ashamed of himself, your people are being killed in numbers and this is all you got to say after this long, what did do when you came back or does it mean that you just came in today? shame on you

sarrki:
This is where it might lead to

That’s why I stopped and dropped my support for Mr President

He’s the commander in Chief

better late than never, that is if it's not because stipends are no longer guaranteed

Eeehhhnn!!! Who are you supporting now?

sarrki:
This is where it might lead to

That’s why I stopped and dropped my support for Mr President

He’s the commander in Chief

The civil war is what we need to set us free from the bondage we are in.

Abeg let it lead to whatever, as long as Nigeria divides along ethnic lines, enough of these bandaid approach. The middle belt has been feeding the whole country and I'm sure will continue to as a sovereign country with great GDP from agriculture, if we can't farm our ways to provide enough food for Omoluabi republic, as long as we have the money to import food from them.

Nigerians beware

These people are very good at planting ideas into someone's head while making you feel it's your idea


These killings have nothing to do with religion

Thunder fire that useless and accursed coward call Gowon....pathetic slave of hausa fulani

All the evil people wrecking all the havoc in the country will soon be fished out and exposed.
Amen.

PMB a.k.a brother Buhari lacks the will power to stop the incessant killings because his brothers are involved.


The best PMB did was to release the number of killings that occurred during the last administration to prove that the rate of killings during his time is insignificant.


What a President!


Again he was quick to mobilize 30,000 Police Officers to Ekiti to rig the election to the favour of APC. But earlier he complained that Nigeria does not have enough security agents to tackle the wanton killings and criminality in the country.

30,000 Police Officers if deployed to Benue State would have made some difference. Same goes for Taraba, Plateau and Zamfara states.

General Gowon good morning sir...