THE NORTH AND SPECTRE OF INSECURITY

If you did not believe the once flourishing Northern Nigeria is caught in the web of insecurity, the recent abduction of students in Kagara and Jangebe by bandits will prove you wrong. The North of today is in flames or grappling with the menace of banditry, kidnapping and dreaded Boko Haram. Every passing day, the region is in bad news. It is a horrific news of bandits attacking communities and kidnapping defenceless villagers for ransom. From Maiduguri in Northeast to Zamfara and Katsina in the Northwest, Boko Haram and bandits are making lives difficult for the poor inhabitants. The once peaceful Niger State has also become the home of bandits. Many rural communities have been overrun by the rapacious criminals wielding sophisticated weapons. What a sad development!

Did the region wake up one day and find itself in this big tragedy or security jeopardy? Certainly, no. It is a long period of negligence, grievance, and injustice. These factors must have contributed to the present woes. Northern Nigeria is blessed with vast land and fertile soil for agricultural production. In spite of this vantage position, 70% of its population are poor. There is also high level of illiteracy with the increased rate of out of the school children. For over a decade, with the exception of the first generation leaders whose foresight and vision led to the massive investment in education, the region suffers total negligence from the present crop of leaders who are direct beneficiaries of our former leaders selfless service. I shed tears when I saw the picture of Kagara school where the abduction of over 27 students and their teachers took place. The school depicts the poor condition of public schools in Niger State. Is Niger the only state in the North with dilapidated public schools? The answer is no. Most of our leaders pay lips services to the development of education. A trip to the Northern states will show how the region suffered from low investment in the education sector.

Poverty and illiteracy in the region are twin-evils breeding the current insecurity. Some internal and external forces have been exploiting these problems to their own advantages. With multi-ethnic and religious composition, every tribe in the region is a victim of conflict waged by his other fellow ethnic group. These mountain of grievances from every angle have continued to fuel suspicion and hatred among diverse ethnic groups in the region. Recently, Fulani group has said, the government has abandoned them. They are victims of cattle rustlers and other securities who connive with their leaders to extort them. The same with other ethnic groups who suffer one form of violence or another. However, the inability of government to bring the perpetrators of many heinous acts to justice has not helped matters. Be it religion, ethnic or communal violence, the promoters and perpetrators are not ghost. They are known by the state. Instead of the long arm of the law bringing them to justice, they are allowed to roam free.

While bandits, kidnappers and Boko Haram overrun many states of the region, there is the need for northern governors to quickly proffer lasting solutions to the deteriorating insecurity in the region. The high rate of poverty and illiteracy should be addressed through good policies and programs. There is the need for the 19 northern states’ governors to invest heavily on education sector. The governors should also look at the various grievances being expressed by the different ethnic groups with a view to addressing them once and for all.

Ibrahim Mustapha, Pambegua, Kaduna State