WELCOME ADDRESS BY HIS EXCELLENCY THE EXECUTIVE GOVERNOR OF KADUNA STATE ARC. MOHAMMED NAMADI SAMBO AT THE MEETING OF THE NORTHERN TRADITIONAL RULERS COUNCIL HELD AT THE COUNCIL OF CHIEFS CHAMBER, LUGARD HALL, KADUNA ON MONDAY 6^TH AUGUST 2007.

I am delighted to be part of this great occasion, a meeting of the Northern Traditional Rulers Council.

On behalf of the Government and the good people of Kaduna State, I warmly welcome all of you to this important occasion taking place here in Kaduna. It is my sincere wish that you find your stay here very challenging and pleasurable.

As Royal Fathers, you share with the State Government the enormous responsibility of maintaining peace in your domains. It is in this firm believe that the Northern Governors decided to closely work together with you so that we can continue to collectively discharge our responsibility of ensuring the security of lives and property of our people.  I must commend our predecessors for such noble as well as novel initiative. There is no doubt that there is no substitute to dialogue in the resolution of disputes among members of the same family.

None of us should be in doubt that the North occupies a central position in Nigeria. Its diversity reflects the plurality of our country. Our strength lies in our capacity to wield our diversity into harmonious family not only for our own purpose but also as an example to other parts of the country. May I, at this juncture, implore our Royal Fathers to take a step further by delving into myriad of issues that militate against the Socio-economic development of our region such as leadership, the economy, youth unemployment, itinerant Islamic education paving way for street begging, poverty, etc. I want to assure you that the governments of the 19 Northern States will do everything possible to implement the key resolutions of your meeting.

As our Royal Fathers, you must guard against certain actions that are divisive along mundane lines. It is your duty to re-enact the good old days of the One North and One Destiny. The Late Sir Ahmadu Bello the Sardauna of Sokoto   and the Premier of Northern Nigeria left a legacy of not delving into any form of dichotomy of either religion, sectional or ethnic considerations. He believes that nothing else mattered more than you being a Northerner. The Premier would have chosen to sideline some of his cabinet members on the basis of such negative dichotomies but on the contrary, he made such thoughts and actions in-expedient and promoted merit without recourse to such negative vices.

Our collective resolve to unite must be pursued vigorously by you to the fullest.

In view of your fatherly role that you play in the society, your behaviour automatically becomes a model for emulation. Mr. President’s resolve to evolve a constitutional means of accommodating the traditional institutions by providing roles for you, notwithstanding the incessant criticisms trailing the gesture, is a welcome development which should be reciprocated by you through concerted efforts to justify such considerations as our ancestral fathers. This is an era we cannot afford to fail our people, especially at this time that all hands must be on deck to give our people the required dividends of democracy.

However, my focus today, is not to review past events but to provoke and generate vibrant and dynamic dialogue to give this meeting the basis for the success it deserves. From whichever angle one looks at the current Socio-economic circumstances in this country in particular and the world as a whole, there are glaring indications that all can be made to be well. In this connection, I will continue to request for your continued efforts in providing peace, justice and fair play for the overall good of all.

Our Distinguished Royal Fathers, with these remarks, let me once again welcome you all to this important occasion. I wish you fruitful deliberations and look forward to the resolutions of your meeting that will promote peace, unity and speedy development not only for our great region but the country at large.

On behalf of the good people of Kaduna State, I once again welcome you for coming. May the peace and blessings of God be upon us all, Amen.

Governor Arch Mohammed Namadi Sambo is a true democrat, whose approach to problems is always humane and conciliatory he is a man of peace who patiently looked to the future with courage and hope. His commitment in the direction of transforming the state into a relatively better integrated and functional polity is continuing  with a mission  to create a stable  and cohesive polity capable of securing effectively the interests of the various communities and giving them the opportunity to develop and live in peace  with one another.