Attacks: More People Have Been Impoverished In Kaduna Says Varsity Don

The series of attacks in Kaduna have impoverished more people in the State, according to Prof. Peter Njiforte, an economist at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.

Njiforte told THE WHISTLER in an interview that many residents in farming communities are now Internally Displaced Persons who depend on the government.

There have been a series of attacks over the years in the state as Southern Kaduna People’s Union (SOKAPU) alleged in April 2022 that within 6 years,148 communities were attacked in Southern Kaduna.

The attacks have degenerated into deliberate efforts to sabotage national assets like the railway line linking the State to the Federal Capital Territory.

Alleged terrorists have launched two major attacks on the Abuja-Kaduna rail way leading to the temporary closure of the infrastructure built with Chinese loan.

In the recent attack which took place on March 28, 2022, passenger manifest showed that 362 travelers validly boarded the 840 seater train.

Njiforte said elites who invest heavily in farming in the displaced communities have withdrawn their investments due to the insecurity situation.

He said, “It is not as if it will lead more people into poverty, it is something that has already happened, because farmers and communities have been ransacked and the community members are now IDPs which is a burden to the government.

“These were people that were living in their communities and had their means of livelihood which was mainly farming and other artisanal activities. They are now a burden to the government, because they are in the IDP camps.

“If you look at the villages where they do farming, the farms used to be owned by elites coming from the cities. The elites cannot go to farms and all these are adding to the food security problem we already have.

“Poverty is at the centre, because if you don’t have a means of livelihood, you can’t think of income. If you don’t have income, you can’t even say you are poor, because poverty is when you have an income that is below a certain limit. So, these ones live for charity.”