Daily Independent Online.
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Monday, June 14, 2004.
SNC will stop ethnic clashes, says Marwa
By Ben Duru
Special
Correspondent,
Owerri
Former Military Administrator of Lagos and
Borno States, Brigadier-General Mohammed Marwa (rtd) has said only the
convocation of a Sovereign National Conference (SNC) could stop the ethnic and
religious crises ravaging the country.
Nigerians, said Marwa, who is eyeing the 2007 Presidency,
must come together to discuss the problems, which had claimed millions of lives
across the various parts of the country.
“I have always supported Sovereign National
Conference. It is always better to
speak to each other than to fight,” Marwa told reporters shortly after
paying a courtesy call on the Deputy Governor of Imo State, Chief Ebere Udeagu,
at his residence in New Owerri.
The ethnic/religious problems, he said, was
becoming one too many and should be tackled. He prayed that the crisis which has engulfed his home state,
Adamawa, and for which a curfew has been imposed with a shoot-at sight order by
Governor Boni Haruna would never resurfaced again.
Marwa said he has been on tour of the
country for over two weeks and does not have all the facts regarding the
development in Adamawa State but said,” It is a very sad situation and
may Almighty God never allow it happen to us again.”
According to him, “I think it is time
for Nigerians to do away with all these shades of violence. If Almighty God wanted us to be either
one tribe or one religion, he would have made it. But we came in different tongues and different
religion. So, we should accept
that and try to live with each other and accommodate one another and live in
peace.”
