Southern Kaduna Christian Leaders Association (SKCLA) has called on communities to break away from a past of strife and crises and embrace peace.

“It is time to break away from the past, a past of strife and crises,’’ Emmanuel Kure, SKCLA’s president, said in Kafanchan on Saturday.

He spoke at an annual Southern Kaduna prayer summit convened by SKCLA.

“It is time for us to begin to seek friendship and to build our land together,’’ he stressed.

Mr Kure said leaving the past behind and embracing the future with hope had become necessary to allow the people to rebuild their land and move forward.

“It is no time to begin to look for faults. We want to see the Muslims and other tribes that are settled in this area as partners in progress.

“It is time to move forward; part of moving forward is to start rebuilding our institutions and to create new ones.

“The state governor (Governor Uba Sani) is already setting the pace for us by setting up skills acquisition centres to move us away from the past,’’ Mr Kure said.

He commended the Nigerian Army for its peace-building efforts in Southern Kaduna.

According to him, the annual event is convened to pray for Southern Kaduna and all her people worldwide.

In his remarks, the guest speaker, Israel Akanji, the national president of the Nigerian Baptist Convention, said it was encouraging to see stakeholders and communities coming together to pray over their land.

According to him, 2024 will see a turnaround and progress in Southern Kaduna and the lives of its people.

Mr Akanji called on the people to work together to achieve God’s purpose for the zone.

Also, commissioner and administrator of Kafanchan Municipal Authority, Phoebe Yayi, who represented Governor Uba Sani, reiterated the need for communities to live in peace, saying there could be no development without peace.

She appealed to religious leaders to continue to preach peace, unity and obedience to constituted authority.

In recent years, Southern Kaduna has been a hotbed of violent crises, leading to wanton loss of lives and property. 

(NAN)