Insecurity In Zamfara Can Be Surmounted Through Dialogue – French Ambassador

Dialogue has been identified as a potent tool that can foster peace and bring about stable livelihood for residents of Zamfara State.

The French Ambassador to Nigeria, Jerome Pasquier, said unless dialogue was engaged, the insecurity facing Zamfara and other states in the north may persist.

Pasquier said this at a recent interactive session on the security and development of Zamfara State.

The event which held in Abuja was organized by the Pastoral Resolve (PARE) with funding from the French Embassy PISCCA Project.

The French Envoy said through dialogue, the Nigerian Government in collaboration with traditional and religious leaders could address insecurity and other challenges facing the northern region, saying Non Governmental Organisations and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) alone cannot do it.

Pasquier, who was represented at the event by the head of corporation and cultural affairs, Rafael Pont, said: “One of the key things in resolving this crisis is dialogue, engaging all the actors on ground, the political side, local authorities, traditional rulers and leaders. So, its not only one NGO or CSO that has the power to resolve everything, it’s a matter of tackling the challenges together.

The Project Coordinator, PARE, Umar Maraduna, regretted that security challenges in Zamfara state had only escalated since the mid-2000 decade, resulting in the current state of insecurity and consequently high level of poverty and food insecurity.

According to him, Zamfara State is at the epicenter of the ongoing crises of insecurity characterized by cattle rustling, kidnapping of persons for ransom, raiding and mass killings, particularly in the rural areas, in the Northwestern part of Nigeria.

Maraduna further regrets that despite the numerous efforts by state governments to engage with the citizens, they have generally been inadequate since most of the institutions of government have inadequate capacity and experience in analyzing and addressing social, economic and environmental crises, which are the major derivers of insecurity.

He however, expressed optimism that the meeting will provide another platform to discuss the problems in Zamfara state with the view to creating a broader understanding of existing opportunities for intervention.

Nasir Usman, Director, Zamfara state Directorate of Non Governmental Organisations while analysing the impact of insecurity in food production, said the state’s production dropped by 30 percent.

According to him, the hardest hit regions are the most fertile farmlands where the most foods are produced.