Northern Elders Decry ‘Worsening’ Insecurity, Says No Evidence Buhari Can Handle Challenge

The Northern Elders Forum (NEF) has decried the devastation of the region by bandits, kidnappers and other criminal who have taken advantage of the weak security landscape to ply their trade, stating that there is no solution in sight.

The group in a meeting on Thursday held at the Kashim Ibrahim House in Kaduna described the condition of the north as a “Dangerous Situation.”

Dr Hakeem Ahmed, one of the Forum’s members, said the northern communities were lost as the federal government is unable to protect the region.

While speaking with newsmen at the venue of the meeting, the elder stateman told journalists that “the governors are trying their best but they do not have control over police.”

He said “people look up to the governors, while they in turn, ask what do you want us to do? We do not have authorities of the Federal Government. But it is not enough. Banditry, Kidnapping is getting worse.

” Kidnapping of school children is threatening education in the North. We have enough problem with poverty in the North.”

The elder stateman asked the region’s governors to settle their differences in order to collectively find solution to the insecurity problem in the country.

“Governors must stop quarrelling between themselves. Governors don’t quarrel, leaders don’t quarrel, if you have issues please settle it within yourselves.

“If you cannot agree on strategies to deal with bandits and kidnappers, what do you want us Citizens to do?, ” Hakeem asked.

He disclosed that President Buhari does not know how deeply the insecurity challenges in the North is.

On the rift between northern governors and their southern counterparts, he said, “our northern governors should engage our southern governors in dialogue and draw their attention to the dangers of what some community leaders in their domains are doing.”

Dr Hakeem lamented thus: “We have not seen any evidence that President Buhari can handle the security challenges.

“He has failed to protect the North. We hear every day that the military are doing their best, unfortunately, it is either the problems are much bigger than them or their best is not enough.

“We do not see evidence that PMB as the President and Commander in Chief of Armed Forces understands the magnitude of insecurity in the north or has the commitment and willingness to address this insecurity issues, we hear every day that the police are doing their best, military are doing their best.

“Unfortunately, their best is not good enough, the person who swore with Quran to protect the north/Nigeria is the President and Commander in chief of Armed Forces and what we see on ground does not show that we are committed.”

Commenting on the call by Sheik Ahmad Gumi for amnesty for bandits, he said, “We agree on multi- positive approach to deal with it.

“If there is a bandit who is willing to stop what he is doing and assures genuine interest to stop what he is doing, we support discussing with them, there is no way you can close the door to amnesty if that is the only way you can deal with it.

“We do not encourage criminality; we do not say forgive a criminal if the criminal wants to continue to commit criminal acts but we support Gumi’s initiative but where we draw the line is, we must never give them the impression that criminals will just simply be pardoned and they will continue committing crime that is not what we are saying, “Hakeem stated.