Former Deputy Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Dr Obadiah Mailafia, has called on the Federal Government and other stakeholders to find lasting solution to the incessant killings and destruction in Benue State to avert famine in the area and the country as a whole.
Mailafia made the call at the presentation of three books by Amb. Joy Ogwu, yesterday, in Abuja.
Mailafia in his keynote address at the book presentation lecture, entitled “The Crisis of Leadership and World Order” tasked the leadership of the country on the need to ensure peace and harmony to accelerate national development.
He said that killings in Middle Belt were taking on a genocidal proportion and might undermine national food security.
The economist and international development expert,however, commended the current administration for the efforts made so far in addressing security challenge in the country
He said: “Without peace and harmony, nothing good will come. But without justice, there can be no peace to speak of. We are encouraged by the enormous efforts of our military, through the leadership of the current administration to break the back of the Boko Haram insurgency.
“However, there are still many more rivers to cross. We need to finish the job and build a framework for a just and lasting peace in the northeast and the rest of the country.”
According to him, there is the problem of the so-called marauding herdsmen who are waging a war in the Middle Belt, which is the bread basket of the country.
“These killings are taking on a genocidal proportion, and if care is not taken, may not only undermine national food security but also, ultimately, the future of our federation.
“The task falls on our generation to re-imagine Nigeria as a land of peace, a land of justice, a land of progress…a land based on the precepts of democracy, the rule of law, enlightenment and civilised value.
“We need a coalition of Nigerians who believe in our manifest as the leader of our glorious continent.”
