Oyo state Governor, Engr. Seyi Makinde, who led Governor Abubakar Bagudu (Kebbi); Governor Abdulahi Ganduje (Kano); Governor, Bello Matawalle (Zamfara); and Governor, Abubakar Sanni (Niger), to Shasha market yesterday, promised to reopen the market if certain conditions were met.
Shasha market was shut last Friday when Yoruba and Hausa communities clashed, reportedly resulting in the death of some residents, destruction of properties, and displacement of people in the area.
Addressing the market men and women, Makinde said: “They (the northern governors) just finished a meeting with the Seriki of Shasha and the Baale of Shasha. As a government you trust and elected into office, please trust our judgement to watch out for you and ensure that we co-exist peacefully.
“There is nothing we can do in an atmosphere of unrest and disharmony. Those who go to Iroko to continue trading, I will lock up the place.
“When you are all ready to cooperate, you will come to me. When you have agreed that there won’t be any more bloodshed here, you will come to me and then I will reopen the market. I beg you. We won’t lose any more lives.”
Also speaking on behalf of the northern delegation, Governor Bagudu of Kebbi State condemned the “spontaneous attacks.”
He said: “The market has been closed down and there are many people whose livelihoods are being affected. The Nigeria Governors’ Forum will also support him (Makinde) to ensure that those who have lost their livelihood are supported in this trying period.”
-Sports minister calls for peaceful co-existence
On his part, the Oyo state born Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Mr. Sunday Dare, who condemned the clash in Shasha, urged the ethnic groups involved in the clash to sheath their swords and stop any further provocative actions and utterances capable of causing any form of unrest.
The minister, who expressed his displeasure at the unbridled insecurity in the state, told the residents to see themselves as one family and eschew violence and bitterness by ensuring that minor conflicts do not degenerate into unwarranted crises.
He urged the warring sides and all the people of Oyo State to obey and support all the measures being put in place towards sustaining peace and security in the state by all the levels of government.
Dare advised Governor Seyi Makinde not to spare any efforts in seeing that peace and security are fully restored to Sasa and all other flashpoints in the state.
