Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State has cautioned that Nigeria cannot end banditry through military force alone, stressing that poverty, unemployment, lack of schools, hospitals, and rural development are the real drivers of crime.
Speaking at the public presentation of “Where I Stand”, a book by the late Sheikh Abubakar Mahmud Gumi, translated into Arabic by Sheikh Ibrahim Jalo Jalingo, the governor emphasized that leaders must accept responsibility rather than shifting blame.
Representing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as Special Guest of Honour at the event organized by Jamaátu Izalatul Bidáh Wa ‘iqamatus Sunnah (JIBWIS), Sani dismissed claims that Nigeria’s insecurity could be resolved by simply “carpet-bombing bandits into submission.”
According to him, insecurity in the North-West is different from the Boko Haram insurgency in the North-East, which is ideologically driven. Instead, he said, banditry is fueled by decades of neglect, poverty, and lack of economic opportunities in rural areas.
“We must fear God and stop deceiving our people. Whoever claims guns alone can solve insecurity is only playing politics,” the governor warned.
He highlighted Nigeria’s dwindling military strength, pointing out that the country had 300,000 soldiers after the Civil War in 1970, but today the number has dropped to less than 250,000, despite a population increase of over 100 million people.
The governor lamented the absence of security presence in many parts of the North-West, noting that one could travel 50 kilometres in Zamfara, Birnin Gwari, or Katsina forests without encountering a single policeman or soldier.
Sani stressed the importance of the Kaduna Peace Model, a community-led, non-kinetic approach involving traditional rulers, religious leaders, and local stakeholders. He cited the case of Birnin Gwari, where the Emir spearheaded peace-building efforts after six months of dialogue to understand the root causes of insecurity.
“We were elected to protect our people. It is not the duty of President Tinubu or the National Security Adviser to go into our forests. Leaders must take responsibility because God will hold us accountable,” he declared.
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