PREAMBLE
On the 25th of February 2017, the Southern Kaduna People’s Union (SOKAPU) Youth Wing organized a mega congress at the St. John’s multipurpose Hall, Kachia, Kaduna State. The objectives of the meeting were:
1. To convene a mega congress that will offer Southern Kaduna youths, under SOKAPU Youth Wing, the opportunity to engage their challenges and proffer constructive solutions.
2. To identify and discuss burning issues that border on security and governance as they affect our youths and Southern Kaduna in general.
3. To open Southern Kaduna Youths to economic opportunities.
OBSERVATIONS
The congress observed as follows:
1. The need for the Southern Kaduna people to unite and to speak with one voice cannot be overemphasized in confronting our individual and collective challenges.
2. The Southern Kaduna people have lost totally, their confidence in the ability of the government to protect the lives of people and property in Southern Kaduna.
3. The internally displaced persons in Southern Kaduna have not been adequately catered for by government, non-governmental organizations and international agencies.
4. Over the past two years very little impact have been felt in Southern Kaduna especially in infrastructure, economic growth and development.
5. For over two years now, government have been playing possum with the issue of local government elections in Kaduna State to the point of exhibiting brazen impunity by obeying nor appealing to the subsisting verdict in favour of the immediate conduct of the election.
6. The land grabbing exercise by the government of Kaduna State against the wishes of the people in the establishment of grazing reserves and other anti-people developments.
7. The closure of tertiary institutions of learning and the planned relocation of such institutions by the State government, to us, heralds the reality that end justifies the means as the intention remains clearly to under develop our communities.
RESOLUTIONS
The congress resolves as follows:
1. To unanimously initiate and operationalize a community watch project to replicate that of the North East and Kaduna metropolis civilian joint task force towards effective policing of the Southern Kaduna communities.
2. In appraisal of the Southern Kaduna security breach we understand that our challenge is in inadequate structure of formations and command of the Nigerian Police Force in effective of the Southern Kaduna communities. To this end we call on the Federal Government to face this matter head on and rescind her decision to establishing two army battalions which we find counterproductive with the current military facilities in Southern Kaduna and environs is adequate with only a command structure of the NPF amiss to deal effectively with crime and security in the area.
3. To write to the Federal and government of Kaduna State to halt the ongoing project on the establishment of grazing reserve or operations of same in Southern Kaduna as our communities have equivocally rejected the siting of such facilities in our land. We are however open to other agricbusinesses being driven by the Federal Government through the Agricultural Promotion Policy (APP).
4. To initiate and support litigations to challenge the impunity with which the Governor of Kaduna State has refused to adhere to the court ruling on local government elections in the state. It is also in the interest of this congress to advice the governor against the intended tactics to appeal on the ruling, long after two months of inaction as feet dragging effort to short change the people of their rightful mandate. We also decry the monumental corruption ongoing in the state where monies belonging to the local government such as excess crude revenues, value added tax, federal allocations fail to impact positively in communities across the state due to the overbearing possessiveness of the state government.
5. The executive committee of SOKAPU Youth Wing should engage all the legislative representatives at both state and federal level within the state in pursuant to item 4 above.
6. We call on the humanitarian agencies, non-governmental organizations such and other agencies of government to join in the efforts SOKAPU is making through her relief materials committee towards alleviating the sufferings and malnutrition challenges facing internally displaced persons in Southern Kaduna.
7. To engage and monitor the budget process and programme implementation in Kaduna State, Nigeria and to commence the preparation of the scorecard of budget performance.
8. To encourage and promote increased participation of Southern Kaduna youths in the economy, governance and politics of Nigeria.
9. In pursuance of economic growth we call on all Southern Kaduna people to invest in their land in agriculture, media, industries, security and other entrepreneurial pursuits.
10. To join voices with other nationalities in Nigeria on the demand that government should commence the process of implementing the National Conference 2014 report.
11. A vote of confidence was passes on the present executive committee of SOKAPU Youth Wing.
Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria!
Long live Kaduna State!!
Long live Southern Kaduna!!!
Comrade Nasiru Jagaba National Leader
