Governors of the North West geopolitical zone have resolved to reject any peace deal with bandits.
This is just as the Zamfara State government has inaugurated a 2,600-member quasi-security organisation called Community Protection Guards (CPGs) to help in rolling back the threat coming from bandits in the state.
LEADERSHIP reports that the region is most affected by bandits levy taxes, kill and kidnap residents for ransom.
In the past a few governors had negotiated peace deals with known bandit leaders in which a lot of money was believed to have been given to the outlaws to give up their criminal activities, but they soon returned to their old habits, using the funds to buy more arms.
But at the graduation and official commissioning of CPG, in Gusau, the Zamfara State capital, yesterday, the chairman of the North West Governors’ Forum and governor of Katsina State, Umar Dikko Radda, announced the position of his colleagues, saying no more negotiation with the outlaws.
Governor Radda said the governors had resolved to work together as a force to clear the region of all acts of banditry.
The governor said, “We have resolved to work together as a team, in spite of the political differences, to save our people from the menace of insecurity.”
According to him, in the fight against banditry there is no All Progressives Congress (APC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) or New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) but North West region only.
He stressed that the well-being and progress of the region was the main concern of the present leadership in the region.
Governor Radda maintained that with the launch of the community protection guards in Katsina and Zamfara, the remaining states of Sokoto, Kebbi, Jigawa, Kano and Kaduna would follow suit.
On his part, Zamfara State Governor Dauda Lawal expressed appreciation for the successful screening and training of the community protection guards, saying they were recruited to address the problem of insecurity in the state.
He reiterated the commitment of his administration to improve infrastructure and end the menace of banditry in the state.
LEADERSHIP reports that five governors of Sokoto, Kebbi, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina and the deputy governor of Kaduna State attended the official commissioning of the CPG.
In his address at the graduation ceremony, the Zamfara State governor, Dauda Lawal, said his administration had embarked on the arduous task with a commitment to gradual reforms across all sectors of the state’s economy to instill sanity and accelerate development.
“While we make these efforts, the lofty goals we set out to achieve will remain a mirage as long as the formidable challenge of insecurity remains unaddressed.
“This informed our decision to, among other things, establish the Community Protection Guards, known as Askarawa. The Steering Committee for establishing the Community Protection Guards traversed the 14 local government areas and screened eligible volunteers for enrolment into the outfit.
“Today, therefore, the first batch of the Community Protection Guards (2,645) are graduating. These young, energetic and vibrant personnel have undergone rigorous training, extensive drilling, and an understanding of the rules of engagement, amongst other skills, in the due discharge of their responsibility of partnering, assisting and working with the security agencies to defend our communities,” he said.
According to him, the bulk of the challenges the region faces was the failure to meet the socioeconomic expectations of the people, adding that the governors would not neglect the message of the people through their votes in March 2023.
In his speech, the chairman of the occasion, General Aliyu Muhammad Gusau (rtd), praised the state government for establishing the Community Protection Guards (CPG). Also at the event, a former chief of army staff (COAS), Lt-Gen Aliyu Gusau Mohammed (retd), said Nigeria was too large for only the Armed Forces and the Nigerian Police Force to secure.
The former defence minister, who stated this in his remarks at the graduation ceremony of Zamfara community protection guards yesterday, called for the deployment of technology and collaboration with community guards.
“With an estimated population of 223.8 million, and a diverse terrain covering 923,768 square kilometres, Nigeria is a difficult country to secure.
“Therefore, expecting a single police force to patrol and control such a large and complex nation effectively is a very tall order indeed. Time has come for us to rethink this strategy in the best interest of our country. Currently, innocent lives are lost daily as terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, armed robbery, organised crime, drug trafficking, human trafficking, and cultism become the order of the day in theatres across Nigeria.”
According to him, the perpetrators now act with impunity, as additional deployment of the military to hotspots had not achieved the desired results.
He, therefore, praised the initiative by Zamfara State government in setting up the CPGs to complement the activities of the regular police force, saying it is the right way to go.
Gusau, a former minister and national security adviser, further said technological advances have had a huge impact on policing and urged the outfit to deploy technology for gathering intelligence and data in crime fighting efforts.
He said intelligence gathering and disseminating effectively among all security agencies and outfits on a regular basis were critical to successful actions against criminal activities.
However, he noted that local knowledge is invaluable, adding that effective security is anchored on fully understanding the environment before deploying appropriate tools that involve the buy-in of all critical stakeholders
“We must understand that security is a community effort and the responsibility of all; not only the police or armed forces,” he stated, while calling for greater inter-agency collaboration and cooperation between government and the private sector Meanwhile, Vice President Kashim Shettima has stated that poverty and insecurity in Northern Nigeria require urgent attention from broadcast media organisations in the region.
Speaking during a courtesy visit by the Arewa Broadcast Media Practitioners Forum yesterday, Shettima noted that poverty and insecurity are among the major concerns facing the North at the moment.
He also urged broadcast media organisations in the country to prioritise national unity in addressing the critical challenges facing northern Nigeria.
Specifically, Shettima, in a statement by his spokesman, Stanley Nkwocha, identified poverty, insecurity and inclusivity as the major concerns demanding attention.
“These are the more germane issues,” the Vice President pointed out, even as he also highlighted issues bordering on drug abuse and maternal mortality.
Painting a picture of a region facing multifaceted challenges, Shettima said, “The nation is gradually being bifurcated into a prosperous south and a north that is in the news for the wrong reasons. We need to unite as a people and address our common challenges.”
The vice president also expressed gratitude to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, noting the president’s appreciation of the north and his history of sacrifice for the nation’s good.
He urged fairness and a deeper understanding of Tinubu’s contributions to the region, citing the Pulako initiative, a programme designed to address most of the challenges in the region, as an example.
On his part, the chairman of the Arewa Broadcast Media Practitioners Forum, Abdullahi Umar Yelwa, stressed the need for collaboration between government and citizens to engender participatory democracy.
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