Northerners should unite ... To deal with challenges

Page 31: Daily Graphic, March 11, 2009.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Interior Minister, Mr Cletus Avoka, has asked northerners to unite to deal with the challenges of poverty, hunger, illiteracy and lack of basic facilities confronting the three northern regions.
He told the Daily Graphic that overcoming those challenges required unity, peace and dialogue and not conflicts or differences in political affiliation, chieftaincy or religion.
Mr Avoka expressed regret that those who were fighting because of political, chieftaincy or religious differences were not in any way direct beneficiaries of the causes they were fighting for.
He said the government was committed to developing the three northern regions but “it cannot do so in the midst of insecurity”.
He explained, for instance, that with the increase in Capitation Grant to facilitate high school enrolment to reduce the illiteracy rate, conflicts were bound to cause schools in those areas to be closed down.
Mr Avoka said in such an instance, the conflict areas would not benefit from the Capitation Grant but would tend to worsen their already deplorable situation.
The Interior Minister, therefore, urged northerners to learn to be tolerant of opposing views and resort to dialogue to settle differences instead of using arms to kill and maim themselves.
He called on all northerners to be commit themselves to peace and development so as to benefit from the policies of the government.
He reminded them that the government had four years to deliver on its manifesto promises but if the people resorted to conflicts and violence, the government would spend the four years finding solutions to the conflicts and not deliver on its promises.
“The government needs peace to transform its manifesto into reality. We must, therefore, give peace a chance,” he exhorted the northerners.