With the directive by President Bola Tinubu to the Minister of State for Defence and military chiefs to relocate to Sokoto State to rid the North-west of bandits, it is expected that they will have no excuse not to end the activities of the notorious bandits’ leader, Bello Turji, and his gang, which has brought embarrassment to the Nigerian security forces and the country at large, Davidson Iriekpen writes
The recent directive by President Bola Tinubu for the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle; Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa and other military chiefs to move to Sokoto State and rid the North-west of the menace of banditry, kidnapping and terrorism was perhaps the boldest decision by Tinubu’s administration to tackle insecurity in the country.
According to a statement issued by his ministry, Matawalle was quoted as saying that the directive was a demonstration of the government’s determination to tackle the growing insecurity in the North-west and restore peace and security to the affected areas. He reiterated President Tinubu’s strong commitment to eradicate terrorism and banditry in the region.
Before the president’s directive, Matawalle had expressed his sadness over the activities of terrorists and bandits in Sokoto, Zamfara, Katsina, and Kebbi states and its environs. He said while in the North-west, himself and the military chiefs would supervise operations and ensure that Turji and his bandits were flushed out. He assured the people of the region of the security forces’ determination not to spare any effort in their resolve to eliminate the bandits.
For over a decade now, terrorism, banditry and kidnappings have plagued Nigeria. Terrorist groups like Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) frequently carry out deadly attacks, especially in the North-east.
Bandits have also been raiding villages, stealing livestock, and kidnapping people for ransom. Herdsmen have been killing farmers and destroying their crops. This has exacerbated poverty and hunger across the country.
With homes, markets, farms and highways unsafe, many Nigerians are increasingly changing their daily routines, avoiding long distance journeys and social gatherings to stay safe.
Businesses have also suffered, while schools in some areas have been closed due to their invasion by bandits who kidnapped teachers and students, some of whom lost their lives in kidnappers’ den.
In all these years, the government has failed to design security strategies to bring an end to insecurity, fuelling speculations that billions of naira of defence budgets end up in private pockets.
Many Nigerians have lost trust in the government’s ability to protect them and have opted for self-help and other more effective solutions to defend themselves and restore peace and security in the country.
For instance, despite former President Muhammadu Buhari’s promise before his election in 2015 to address the security challenges in the country, right under his watch, the problem spread across all the six zones in the country.
Since Buhari’s successor, President Tinubu reconstituted and reconfigured the nation’s military architecture – a move widely seen as a sign of his seriousness in combating these agents of darkness – the progress recorded has been minimal.
As a sign of the government’s failure to address the menace, some residents of the affected Sokoto, Katsina, Kaduna, and Zamfara states had taken their destiny in their own hands by mobilising against bandits and resorting to self-help.
For instance, while the residents of Matusgi in Talata Mafara, Zamfara State had overpowered and killed about 37 bandits, thousands of residents of Gobir in Sokoto State had also stormed the forest in large numbers to rescue about 150 kidnapped compatriots and also recovered the remains of the district head of Gobir, Isa Mohammad Bawa, who was abducted and killed by bandits.
Source: ThisDay
