Governor of Lagos State, Babatunde
Fashola of Lagos State, made a case that a hall be named in memory of the
students who were slain in a terrorist attack in Yobe.
Originally named after the governor
by the Lagos Zonal Council of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas
Workers (NUPENG), the hall, located in Fadeyi, will now be named “Peace Hall”
in honour of the slain pupils.
“I appreciate NUPENG’s gesture but I
will rename this edifice ‘Peace Hall’, in memory of the lives of the children
that were brutally slain in Yobe by insurgents”, Fashola said, adding that the
children would soon be forgotten but renaming the hall after them will remind
everyone of the need to insist on peace across all parts of the country.
He prayed for the repose of the
slain children but urged citizens of the country to stand up and be counted in
the quest against violence, irrespective of language, religion or ethnicity.
“No matter how diverse we are, we
are still one people. This is a time when colours and flag do not matter and
political ideologies mean nothing”, he said. “This is the time we must show and
respect the values of the lives of fellow Nigerians”.
The 43 students were murdered from
about 12:15am until after 4am on Tuesday, as Boko Haram gunmen slaughtered and
fired gunshots at them in a manner that those who saw the corpses have
described as horrible.
The attack has since been condemned
by a host of international organisations led by the United Nations, as well as
local groups, political parties and individuals.
On Thursday while speaking on the
occasion of the Centenary Conference themed Human Security, Peace and
Development: Agenda for the 21st Century, President Goodluck Jonathan promised
to continue responding “strategically and decisively” to the scourge of
terrorism, saying “...together with our people, we shall end an end”.
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