MEMO TO TINUBU ON INSECURITY IN THE NORTH

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has hit the ground running since he was inaugurated. Tinubu has proven he is fully prepared to take tough decisions in the interest of the country. The speed with which he removed petroleum subsidy, and important appointments all pointed to his readiness to take the country to the pedestal of growth and development.

But no nation can develop with ravaging insecurity in its territory. While the country has recorded remarkable progress since the restoration of democracy in 1999, the deteriorating security has resulted in wanton killings of defenceless Nigerians by non-state actors and other criminals. There is loss of confidence by Nigerians over the inability of successive governments to tame the monster of insecurity bedevilling the country, particularly in northern Nigerian. While the immediate past administration was able to contain the dreaded Boko Haram insurgents, leaving remnants to attack soft targets, banditry in Zamfara, Katsina, Niger and Kaduna States and farmers/ herders’ clashes have escalated tension in the region.   

  Northern Nigeria, the food basket of Nigeria, has become a shadow of its former self. While the North East is struggling with Boko Haram, North central is battling with farmers/herders’ crisis. The once peaceful North-west has since turned into home of banditry. The intractable security challenges in the north have continued to pose threat to food security and education development. Many rural farmers have deserted their ancestral homes as bandits impose levies, abduct and kill defaulters at will. Schools are frequently being attacked and students forcefully kidnapped. The horrible situation has discouraged parents from sending their children or wards to school. The number of school dropout which is estimated at over 15 million children, coupled with activities of rapacious bandits paint a gloomy picture of education in the region.

  Besides, the region has become a killing field. Hardly a day passes without report of gory massacre of people in the villages, farms, markets or even on the roads. Though concerted efforts have been put in place by government to arrest the situation, insecurity has defied lasting solutions. However, with the new governors in the troubled states, one foresees an end to the lingering insecurity in the region. Already, the Zamfara State governor, Dauda Lawal Dare, held a close-door meeting with Chief of Defence Staff, Lucky Irabor, in a bid to tackle the menace of banditry in his state. Also, Kaduna State governor, Malam Uba Sani, in an interview with Channels Television, bared his mind on the need to create state police. He emphasised that only state police can address security challenges. In Benue State, Governor Alia has promised to review the anti-grazing laws implemented by his predecessor, Samuel Ortom. Katsina State Governor Dikko Radda, during his inauguration promised to exploit every avenue to confront insecurity in his state.

  Interestingly, the governors have good ideas and passion for the protection of their people from the activities of criminals terrorising their states. The affected governors should liaise with federal government to achieve this feat. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu should help the state governors through military and other logistics support. For a better policing, the president should invest heavily in intelligence gathering, scale up recruitment of security personnel, rejig our security architecture and above all work with neighbouring countries to eliminate insecurity in Nigeria.

 Ibrahim Mustapha, Pambegua, Kaduna State