SOKAPU Resonates Demand For GURARA State, At Constitution Review Committee Sitting In Kaduna

– Says, Southern Kaduna qualified for one or two States.

– Demands and agitation spans Over 30 years


By Frederick Peters, KADUNA.

NEWSDAILYNIGERIA– The Southern Kaduna Peoples’ Union, SOKAPU, has renewed its call for the creation of a Southern Kaduna state, to be known as Gurara State out of the present Kaduna state.

SOKAPU maintained that the southern Kaduna people with the strength of its population, landmass and human and natural resources couple with the need for peace, justice and development is more qualified for a state or more.

Speaking to Journalists shortly after making his presentation at the senate constitutional Review committee hearing in Kaduna on Wednesday, the National President of SOKAPU, Hon Jonathan Asake, said they have come to further expound on their memo,

”  we have earlier submitted to the committee on the review of the 1999 constitution set-up by the Senate

” we have raised a lot of issues in the memo, one of the key issues that we have in that memo is the issue of state creation; the creation of Gurara state out of the present Kaduna state”

According to him, the agitation dates back over 3 decades ” the demand for Gurara state spans over 30 years and many conferences have been held and our people of Southern Kaduna have always presented memos in demand of this state,

” but what we have today is that the process of creating a state  as provided for in section 8 of the Nigerian constitution is very cumbersome ” he lamented

He however called on the Senate to ” relax those provision of that section, so that a state can be created for the people of  Southern Kaduna,

Adding that ” in the 2014 National conference out of its recommendations of states to be created recommended Gurara state out of the 18  states to be created in  the federation “

According to Asake, Southern Kaduna ” is more than qualified to have a state or even two states because Kaduna state has a landmass of 46 square kilometres and southern Kaduna is 26,000 square kilometres while Kano state is 20,000 square kilometres and so you see southern Kaduna alone has more landmass than Kano State ” he averred

Speaking on the current population advantage of the proposed state ” we are  projected by 3 percent annual growth  rate to have a population of 5.1 million population and with a landmass of 26 thousand square kilometres; we are more than the population of 21 out of the 36 States of the federation

” so you can see that southern Kaduna by all standards is qualified to have a state or even two, but we are actually put into one box like that and that is why the issue of margilization, enslavement, dehumanization, issues of oppression have been the constant cry

”  and off course creating a new state will solve the problems of incessant crisis between the north and south” he reiterated

He further suggested that a new geopolitical structure arrangement be immediately effected ” where we restructure the political zones and put them in the constitution and the Gurara state when it is created for Southern Kaduna should be in the Middlebelt West States ” he stated