Army convenes meeting for Yoruba, Hausa leaders at Fagba

Yoruba and Hausa community leaders have pledged to forget last week’s sad incident and promote peaceful co-existence in Ifako-Ijaiye/Ojokoro areas of Lagos State.

They spoke on Tuesday at a meeting organised by the Commander of the 9th Brigade, Nigerian Army, Maj.-Gen. Mohammed Etsu-Ndagi, for community leaders, at Ifako-Ijaiye Local Government Area Office.

The community leaders attributed the violence at Fagba, one of the trouble spots during the #EndSARS protest last Tuesday, to impatience and anger.

Maj-Gen. Etsu-Ndagi said the brigade convened the meeting as part of its civic engagement initiatives aimed at promoting peace among Nigerians.

The commander, represented by Col. Ibrahim Umar, warned troublemakers to desist, as the government would not hesitate to deal ruthlessly with them.

He sympathised with those who lost their loved ones and valuables.

Chairman of Ifako/Ijaiye Local Government Apostle Oloruntoba Oke and his Ojokoro Local Council Development Area (LCDA) colleague Hakeem Tijani praised the youth for protecting government assets and not turning the incident to an opportunity to foment crisis.

They said the meeting was organised to educate the leaders on the need for the residents to live peacefully.

The Seriki Fulani of the Abattoir Hausa Community, Alhaji Al-Amin Bashir, thanked Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and community leaders for stopping violence in the areas.

He said the Hausa community was committed to a peaceful co-existence with their Yoruba neighbours.

A representative of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ojokoro LCDA, Sola Agbayewa, said the youth must be praised for their role in quelling the violence.

The Chairman, Fagba Community Development Association (CDA), Femi Agbalajobi, hailed the state government and the council chairmen for ensuring the return of peace to Fagba.

The lawmaker representing Ifako-Ijaiye Constituency II, Mr. Rasheed Makinde, urged the Yoruba and Hausa communities to sheathe their swords and live together peacefully.