BY TAIWO FAROTIMI
Some of the governors who took oath of office Wednesday have identified the spate of insecurity in the country as a major challenge. They have therefore resolved to tackle it in order to restore peace and harmony in their territories. Among the governors are Bello Matawalle of Zamfara State and Ahmed Fintiri of Adamawa, both of who are new on the job. But their states have been more of theatres of violence in recent times that residents have had to relocate , most after losing loved ones to bandits, cultists or terrorists as the case may be.
Matawalle, the candidate of People’s Democratic Party, PDP at the March election who was declared winner of that poll due to organizational error on the part of the opposition party, All Progressives Congress, APC few days to swearing in, sent strong warnings to bandits and criminals. He said, “I will be in touch with all stakeholders ranging from security chiefs, traditional and religious leaders in the state with a view to finding a lasting solution to the menace.” He regretted that insecurity had grounded agriculture, industry , health and education among others. He is right. In fact, his predecessor , Abdulaziz Yari once announced that he was resigning as chief security officer of the state. His complaint was that security agencies were not cooperating with him to tackle the problem. However, where he threw up his arms in frustration, Matawalle hopes to make progress.
The same optimism is being displayed in Adamawa. Ahmed Fintiri, the new governor did not mince words when he said, “Let me sound a note of warning to the local groups currently terrorising our neigbourhood not to test our resolve.” Speaking after he was sworn in he gave a two-week ultimatum to criminal gangs like the “Shilla cult” group to reform because his government will not habour “sacred cows neither will we be bullied or intimidated by disgruntled elements seeking to derail state craft; we shall be fair but firm, resolute but considerate.”
Fintiri made it clear he would not allow anybody to distract him from his set goal of making Adamawa one in the “comity of best states not just in Nigeria but in the world.” Abdullahi Sule of Nassarawa state said aside from completing the ongoing Lafia Cargo Airport within 100 days in office, he will also tackle insecurity and youth employment crisis.
The same sentiments were expressed by governors starting their second term in office. Governors Abubakar Bello, Ahmed el-Rufai, Solomon Lalong, Samuel Ortom and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Niger, Kaduna, Plateau, Benue and Enugu states respectively also decried the spate of insecurity and stated plans to tackle the menace.
Bello who promised to consolidate on the foundation he laid in the past tenure said he would make the state a case study on how to tackle insecurity in Nigeria. His Enugu state counterpart was more explicit. He said while he would continue to fund federal security agencies in his state, he would also increase training and funding for the Neigbourhood Watch, a local security outfit to handle security in the hinterland.
For Lalong, el-Rufai and Ortom the past is a lesson on how to guard the loins for a better future. Hear Lalong: “The path from 2015 to 2019 had not been without challenges , particularly in the area of security, because sporadic attacks on communities occurred in some local government areas. These attacks led to deaths and displacement of people, destruction of houses , crops and livestock and mutual mistrust among communities.”
His counterpart in Benue lamented the fate of his people in the hands of herdsmen. He said 700 people have lost their lives since January 2018, while about 180,000 are in eight internally displaced persons camps with over 500,000 living in uncompleted buildings or host communities. The challenge, he said, was “how to get the displaced persons back to their ancestral homes as there are still sporadic attacks by herdsmen.” Not only that, while the federal government had responded to appeal to provision of security, it is yet to make do with its promise to resettle those in the camps. Meanwhile the governor said situs in the camps was becoming more desperate by the day. Added to this is the fact that the attacks, apart from crippling the economic situation in the state and frustrating food security, has become a major threat to education as school facilities often come under attack whenever the herdsmen strike. The whole thing is obviously having a toll on the finances of the state.
El-Rufai hinted on that when he said his government had expended huge resources on maintaining security forces in kaduna during his first tenure. That money, he said, could have been channeled to development projects that will benefit the people. Going forward therefore, he wants his people “to replace the legacy of division and violence with one of peaceful (coexistence)”, noting that “Beyond boots on the ground, the most sustainable guarantee of peace is willingness of communities to live in harmony.”
In the past years kaduna , Zamfara , Benue and Plateau states had come under attack from herdsmen and bandits leaving scores dead and others injured or homeless. The development became a source of conflict between the federal authorities and state governors some of who accuse the central government of either lethargy or supporting expansionist agenda of a race.
The months ahead will show how the governors, particularly the new ones, will tackle the issue.
