Buhari Insists FG Winning War Against Insurgents, Bandits, Kidnappers

Francis Sardauna in Katsina

President Muhammadu Buhari on Saturday reiterated that his administration was winning the war on banditry, kidnapping, insurgency and other forms of insecurity in the country. Echoing his maiden June 12 Democracy Day address, Buhari assured that ending the carnage in the North-west and other parts of the country remained a cardinal objective of his administration. He spoke in Katsina at the fourth convocation ceremony of the Federal University, Dutsin-Ma (FUDMA).

The president explained that the federal government was poised to create an enabling environment for lawful citizens to go about their legitimate businesses.
Represented by the former Deputy Governor of Kano State, Professor Hafiz Abubakar, Buhari 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 involved covert operations that were not open to the public, the president urged Nigerians to work together to sustain peace in the country.

“We have no other country we can call ours, but Nigeria. We must stay here and salvage it together,” he stated.
Buhari challenged the managements of Nigerian universities to conduct researches that would encourage industrialists 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,” Buhari said.

He 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.”

The president urged Nigerian universities to adopt proactive measures that would boost their Internally Generated Revenues (IGR) to complement federal government’s efforts.

In his welcome speech, the acting Vice Chancellor of FUDMA, Professor Adamu Baba-Kutugi, said inadequate security arrangement, lack of staff accommodation, inadequate students’ hotels, and poor road network were predicaments faced by the university. Baba-Kutugi called for government’s assistance to the institution.

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