Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State has identified poverty, unemployment, lack of schools, hospitals, and commerce in rural areas as root causes of crime, insisting that leaders must take responsibility.
The governor gave the caution at the public presentation of ‘’Where I Stand, a book written by the late Sheikh Abubakar Mahmud Gumi, which was translated by Sheikh Ibrahim Jalo Jalingo into Arabic.
He also advised the opposition to stop politicising the issue of insecurity by claiming that bandits can be carpet-bombed out of existence or submit.
Governor Sani represented President Bola Tinubu as the Special Guest of Honour and was also the Chief Host at the occasion, which was organised by Jamaátu Izalatul Bidáh Wa ‘iqamatus Sunnah (JIBWIS) on Saturday.
He noted that the insecurity in the North-West is unlike the Boko Haram insurgency in the North East, which is ideologically-driven, adding that poverty, unemployment and neglect of rural communities are at the heart of banditry.
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According to him “insecurity can’t be resolved solely through the use of firearms,” noting that whoever makes such a claim is only playing politics.
“We must fear God, and stop deceiving the people because that approach will not work,” he said.
Governor Sani noted that Nigeria’s security manpower has reduced despite the country’s massive population growth in the last 45 years.
“In 1970, after the civil war, Nigeria had about 300,000 soldiers, but today they are less than 250,000, while our population has increased by over 100 million. How then can anyone say that guns alone will solve the problem? It is impossible,” he stressed.
He also lamented the absence of security presence in large parts of the Northwest, saying, “If you travel to Zamfara, Birnin Gwari, or the forests of Katsina, you can go for about 50 kilometres without meeting a single policeman, not to talk of a soldier. We have vast areas in this country without any security personnel.”
According to him, the Kaduna Peace Model, which emphasises a non-kinetic approach to tackling insecurity, was initiated by the affected communities, involving traditional, religious leaders and other stakeholders.
Citing the case of Birnin Gwari, the Sani disclosed that the Emir spearheaded the return of peace in the area, adding that ‘’we spent six months trying to understand the root causes of insecurity.’’
“We should not deceive our people by saying President Tinubu or National Security Adviser Ribadu is responsible. We should not expect them to go to Giwa, Birnin Gwari or the Dansadau forest to solve the problem for us.
“We were elected by the people, and it is our duty to do everything possible to protect our people. I decided to embark on the non-kinetic approach to address insecurity in Kaduna State because it’s to me that God will hold responsibility in the hereafter,’’ he added.
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