FORMER Secretary to the Federal Government (SGF) Engineer Babachir David Lawal, has warned those attacking the Minister of Defence, retired General Christopher Musa, remarking that it has become obvious that conflict entrepreneurs are offended by the Minister’s disclosure that the killings in Kaduna were caused by officials of the state government.

   He urged all those trying to push back on the facts disclosed by the Minister about the security situation in Kaduna and northern Nigeria should endeavour “to focus on the millions of their out-of-school children roaming the streets with pans in their hands and who are easy pool for recruitment into insurgency and banditry groups.”

   Gen Musa (retd) had, while appearing in a Channels Television programme, alleged that a former Kaduna State governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, promoted the killings in the Southern part of Kaduna State, stressing that delegates to peace meetings with the authorities became targets of attacks.

   However, taking to his Facebook page, the former SGF, swore that any attempt by Nasiru’s compatriots to lynch one of the best of ours in the person of Gen Musa – a brilliant patriot and highly regarded military officer who served out his tenure with distinction – will be stoutly resisted.

   “We advise that these so-called Nasiru defenders to focus their attention on their Traditional Rulers, Senior Clergy, Federal Ministers and Senators from among their own who are currently mired in controversies and allegations of being collaborators of bandits and kidnappers that are ravaging the “Arewa” of their dreams.

   “They should leave Gen Musa out of the predicaments of their own making,” he declared, noting that whatever Nasiru’s defenders might say in his defence, their right to do is acknowledged, being his Fulani/ Moslem/ “Arewa” compatriots and also probably, some beneficiaries of his ignoble actions against the Southern Kaduna ethnic nationalities.

  Part of Babachir’s post read: “I have tried to restrain myself from reacting to the fatuous articles attacking the Honourable Minister of Defence, Christopher Gwabin Musa on his comments on Nasiru Rufai. I have observed that most of these attacks occur on the Arewa Consultative Forum platform and similar others majorly populated by Northerners of the “Arewa” persuasion.

   “But, their views do not alter the experiences of Southern Kaduna people in Nasiru’s hands while he was the Governor of Kaduna State. To them, and by extension us (all Northern ethnic Nationalities and Christians), Nasiru El-rufai was what Adolf Hitler was to the Jews; no more no less. This is their reality, which as Christopher says, is mercifully being addressed by the current governor who himself is a Fulani/Moslem but of a merciful type; God bless his soul.”

   It could be noted that ever since he mounted the saddle as Kaduna State Governor, Senator Uba Sani, has been putting measures in place to heal the ethnic and religious tensions in the state, particularly the socio-political dichotomy between the northern and Southern parts of Kaduna State.