Arewa leaders from the six South West States of Oyo, Osun, Ekiti, Ondo, Ogun and Lagos, stormed Ibadan, Oyo State capital on Thursday for an emergency peace meeting on the heels of the recent tribal clash in Sabo, Ile-Ife between the Yoruba and Hausa communities with a view to preventing a recurrence of such incident.

The meeting which was hosted by Alhaji (Dr.) Haruna Maiyasin, the Sarkin Shasha and Head of the Arewa Communities in the 17 Southern States had in attendance more than 50 Sarkin Hausawa from all the six South West States including Alhaji Mohammed Bashir Husein, Senior Special Adviser to the Governor of the State of Osun on Arewa Matters.

Also in attendance was His Royal Majesty, Oba Hammed Adekunle Oyelude Tegbosun III, the Olowu of Kuta and Chairman, Council of Owu Obas, who stood in for Yoruba monarchs and the Government of the State of Osun at the peace parley.

While urging all concerned to accept all that had happened in good faith and as a wish of Allah, the Arewa leaders called on the Government to set up harmonization committees to interface between the Hausa and the host communities to ensure harmonious relationship and enduring peace and also mitigate the losses of the victims.

Addressing the Arewa leaders, the Olowu of Kuta, Oba Oyelude described the Ile-Ife incident as quite unfortunate as, according to him, the Hausa and Yoruba in the South West had decades of peaceful coexistence which had even resulted in inter marriages as well as cultural and religious assimilations.

Speaking in the same vein, the Senior Special Adviser to Governor Aregbesola on Arewa Matters, Alhaji Bashir Husein reassured that perpetrators of the gory incident would not go unpunished.

“The Governor has set up a Committee to investigate the whole issue and justice would be carried out to the letter”, he stated.

The Sarkin Shasha, in his address, charged the delegates to go back to their respective States and ensure the establishment of inter-ethnic Peace Forums where harmonious relationship with the host States would be the topmost on the agenda.