ALL IN NORTHERN NIGERIA?

 I am at a loss for words to condemn the heinous activities in northern Nigeria: the myriads of problems plaguing the region transcend all genres of insecurity.

Specifically, northern Nigeria has become a boulevard for every absurdity, ranging from kidnapping, banditry, Boko Haram, cattle rustling, armed robbery, political thuggery, communal and farmer’s clashes.

The recent onslaught along the Abuja – Kaduna railway, the killing of 106 people in Kanam LGA, and the Taraba bomb explosion, among others, are sufficient to substantiate that northern Nigeria is in a state of emergency. Our people sleep with one eye open in fear of killings and kidnappings, among other detrimental events. Thus, hospitals and schools were turned into criminals’ hideouts, houses into graveyards, and farms into training grounds for criminals.

 What exactly is the issue? Why always in northern Nigeria? Why does the phenomenon thrive in the north, even though it is the most populous and with the most politicians in the country?

Starting with the northeast, Boko Haram has been administering the region since 2009. As a result, thousands of lives were lost, a million fled their abodes as well as the destruction of properties worth billions of naira. The catastrophe doesn’t stop there, as there is an interlude in the region’s agriculture and education. Wards are vulnerable to insecurity, with students no longer going to school but busy hawking, begging, and snatching people’s belongings on the street. The situation is deteriorating by the day.

The extremely irksome question is, for how long would insecurity last in the region? We are suffocated with the bloodletting! The north must save itself.

Ukasha Rabiu Magama, Toro LGA, Bauchi State