Buhari: We’re Winning War against Bandits, Kidnappers, Insurgents

By Francis Sardauna in Katsina

President Muhammadu Buhari Saturday said his administration was winning the war against banditry, kidnapping and insurgency bedeviling the country.

He assured Nigerians that ending the carnage in the Northwest region and other parts of the country remained the cardinal objective of his administration.

Buhari explained that Federal Government was poised to creating an enabling environment for lawful citizens to go about their legitimate duties without impediments.

President Buhari, who stated this in Katsina at the 4th convocation ceremony of the Federal University, Dutsin-Ma (FUDMA), said his administration would end insecurity soon.

Buhari, represented by the former Deputy Governor of Kano State, Professor Hafiz Abubakar, said: “I want to assure the people of Katsina State and indeed all other States of the federation that the climate of fear being orchestrated by the bandits, kidnappers and insurgents would soon come to an end”.

While admitting that the war against bandits and kidnappers involves numerable covert operations that are not assessable by the citizens, the president urged Nigerians to work together for the sustainability of peace in the country.

According to him, “We have no other country we can call ours, but Nigeria. We must stay here and salvage it together”.

He, however, challenged management of Nigerian universities to come out with shells to conduct research that would prompt industrialist to patronise their institutions to enhance their capacities to produce and diversify their products.

“It is not heart-warming that in over 58 years of independence, Nigerian Universities are slow in discoveries and inventions”, President Buhari said.

The President said although, the country was facing funding challenges at all levels, “Universities have both the legal and internal revenue muscles to generate fund to finance research and other academic activities”.

He therefore, urged Nigerian Universities to adopt proactive measures that would boost their Internally Generated Revenues (IGR) to complement federal government’s efforts of improved IGR.

In his welcome speech, the acting Vice Chancellor of FUDMA, Professor Adamu Baba-Kutugi, said inadequate security arrangement, lack of staff accommodation, inadequate students hostels and poor road network were predicaments facing the varsity, hence the need for government to assist the institution.

Earlier, the Chancellor of the institution, Dandeson Douglas Jaja, lamented that the university had not been able to utilised the student accommodation provided at the main campus due to security challenges.

He said: “This university faces daunting problem in respect of security of lives and properties. The main campus of the university has been located in a volatile area security-wise”.