Poverty Eradication and Education, A Key to end Insecurity in the North, By Abbas Nasidi Musa
POLITICS DIGEST- The state of Insecurity in the Northern part of Nigeria is becoming worrisome and disturbing considering the high rate of killings, banditry, kidnapping, conflicts, war, Farmers-herdsmen clashes, raping and other sexual abuses etc which innocent people fall to the guns of criminal in the region today.
In the past recent months no week passes with out report of unknown gunmen taking human lives in the streets of Northern Nigeria and North-west in particular. (Sokoto, Katsina, some part of Kaduna and Borno in North-east to be prescised)
The question is what are the root causes of all these killings? What are the consequences as well as solution to this? These rhetorical questions may not need answers but it is mind-boggling that despite huge amount of money spent every year in the name of security by the government yet Nigeria security situation still remains uncontained. When ever there’s a problem there’s always a cause. So for us to find the lasting solution to Insecurity in the North, we have to sit-down and think thoroughly and asked ourselves these questions. ” What are the remote and immediate causes of in security in the North and how can the situation be resolved?
I read several articles on this subject matter and I learnt that must of writers they devoted their time in deepening in to the issue of bad governance. Yes I agreed, the leadership of this country has contributed so much to the situation of Insecurity we are facing now in Nigeria but the main underlying causes is poverty and illiteracy.
The North occupies about 70% of the land mass of this country, it also has the highest infant and maternal mortality rates in the country. Similarly, it has the lowest rate of child enrolment in schools, highest number of unemployed young people in the country, highest levels of poverty as compared to the other parts of the country. Consequently, the region is faced with challenges of security of lives and property and has remained a major issue today.
And what’s more worrisome now is how the government took the Almajiris and Fulani for granted with out basic necessities like education. So we are actually living on a time-bomb. These categories of people are normally the ones used as an agents to caused this problems of insecurity because they’re uneducated, easily manipulated and don’t have any hope in life, they are left with no option then to join any agitation by the bad politicians to distrupt the administration of their counter part politicians.
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It’s obvious that the present administration have failed to safe guard the fundamental pillar of a government i.e protection of lives and property of it’s citizens and their welfare, but refused to accept the depeat. You must accept that you’re wrong for you to correct your mistakes. Almost all of the elites of this country from President to the least appointed are protected by the Police, Mobile Police or even the Army, Who are to protect the common man in his farm or on street? I believe it’s high time for this administration to accept the realities that they have failed in order to end this Insecurity in the North and the nation at large.
The intelligence gathering of this nation is dead! There would be a signal that something would happen and it will happened and there will be no remedy. So we must call a spade a spade!!!
My suggestions to end this Insecurity are as follows:
1. The President of the Federal republic of Nigeria must show capacity as commander in chief of the armed forces.
2. The leadership of Northern Governors Forum and National Assembly should move and see the President, let him understand the magnitude and intensity of the insecurities we’re facing in the North, I suggest you should go with the pictures of the events in order to draw more of his attention.
3. We should not only concentrate in creating the funds to army only with out looking at the police, they also have a very important role to play.
4. Every hand must be on desk in this fight. There should be a collaboration between the community, local government, state government and federal government.
5. Government should create awareness and sensitisation to the local community on how to help in curtailing this insecurity challenge.
6. The service chiefs had done their best, they’re running out of fuel and most of them have passed their deadline in service. Let’s invite fresh blood to chip in and contribute their quarter. We’ve many gallant lieutenants that are more than ready for the job.
7. Government should create a precisive, coordinated and organized approach in cutailling and ameliorating this problems.
8. After succeded in this fight, government should have a review of the grassroot of the causative agent of this insecurity i.e illiteracy and poverty.
9. Government should try as much as possible to see that it has provided basic necessities like education, clean water, shelter etc to the Fulani, almajiris and other local communities for them to feels that they are also carried along in the government.
10. Government should form a poverty alleviation programs in the rural areas as a means to eradicate poverty.
11. We should always pray for the Almighty God to protect us and guide us through.
Nasidi Jr, a young passionate and concerned citizen wrote in from Gagarawa.
