Poverty Not Responsible for Insecurity in North, HURIWA Replies Shettima

Chuks Okocha in Abuja

Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), yesterday, carpeted Vice-President Kashim Shettima for saying the twin-war of terrorism and banditry in northern Nigeria was “accentuated by poverty” and “social exclusion”.

The vice-president was said to have made the comment in a chat with newsmen while on a condolence visit to Kano over the weekend, saying, “Pulaku Solution” will be unveiled to end the decade-long terror menace in the country. Pulaku in Fulfude means brotherhood and helping the Fulani community.

HURIWA, in a statement by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, said Shettima’s understanding of terrorism was warped, adding that terrorists were some of the richest and well-organised networks in the world.

The group said Shettima was chasing shadows by blaming poverty for North West or North East terrorism as a poor man could not buy military grade weapon and other anti-aircraft missiles used to down Nigerian Air Force fighter jets in Zamfara, Borno and other insurgent-riddled states in northern Nigeria.

HURIWA further knocked Shettima for saying, “Unless we want to engage in an endless war of attrition, there cannot be a military solution to the crisis in the northwest. There has to be a kinetic and non-kinetic solution.”

HURIWA said, “It is so unfortunate that the ex-governor of Boko Haram-infested Borno State, has limited understand of the dimensions of terrorism, especially in Nigeria. Terrorists are some of the richest and well-organised networks.

“The North West terrorists of Zamfara and Borno are not poor but they are members of international illegal mining networks with probably links to some rogues in China and Middle East.”

“These same ‘poor’ insurgents down a NAF jet on 18 July 2021, which led to its crash in Zamfara State. In April 2021, the Abubakar Shekau-led faction of Boko Haram claimed responsibility for a crash involving an alpha jet operated by NAF.

“In many videos released by the terrorists, they were seen engaging NAF jets flying at low range in a gunfight. The insurgents were usually armed with machine guns, especially ones that seem to be anti-aircraft weapons. 

“These are hardened terrorists extremely detrimental to the survival of Nigeria. Nigeria must not negotiate with them or use non-kinetic approach but frontal military firepower,” the HURIWA coordinator said.