The only thing govt can give us is security – Ex gov

Former governor of old Sokoto State and a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Alhaji Yahya Abdulkareem, yesterday, weighed in on the insecurity situation, saying something urgent must be done to address the issue.   How will you describe the current situation in the North West? There are two things bedeviling us in the […]

Former governor of old Sokoto State and a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Alhaji Yahya Abdulkareem, yesterday, weighed in on the insecurity situation, saying something urgent must be done to address the issue.

 

How will you describe the current situation in the North West?

There are two things bedeviling us in the North, the insecurity and Almajiri issue. I am an indigene of Zamfara State and I know what our people are enduring everyday. Luckily enough, this government is putting emphasis on agriculture. In Zamfara, we don’t have anything apart of agriculture. In fact the motto of the state is ‘Farming is our pride’ but can you farm where there is insecurity? You cannot. You cannot farm, you cannot do business, you cannot do anything. You can only think of how to protect yourself.  That is how the people of Zamfara are living at the moment. The only thing they think about is how they can keep themselves alive; whether you are in the city or in the village. 

I heard the National Security Adviser saying the security has improved; it has not improved at all. Look at what happened at Kaura Namoda last week. Is it improvement for people to slaughter 38 people and we remain quiet? The government is not doing anything; the security agencies are not doing anything. Where are these people? We know their camps, what is the use of all these equipment we are buying? We have helicopters, we have different kinds of aircraft, but we cannot go and attack them. These people move in hundreds and many others keep joining them because it is lucrative. They collect hundreds and hundreds of naira from the local people. They have also collected their animals. In fact they collected everything they have. People are joining it and the government is watching, not doing enough. If bandits enter a village and security operatives attack them, they leave. They don’t follow them. If they carry out attacks on the road and the security personnel go there, the only thing they do is to drive them away. They do not follow them to where they are. What kind of security are we having? 

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What can the governors do to address the situation?

I sympathise with the governors because I was once one. I sympathise with them because I know that if you are a governor and you do not do what the security operatives want, they will not do what you want. The governors are chief security officers but the security men are not controlled by them. The commissioner of police is not controlled by the governor. Also, the GOC is not controlled by the governor. They are being controlled by the federal government. But the blame comes to the governor. I am not afraid of anybody; I can say anything. We heard that people are saying because Zamfara is spending a lot of money on security agents, they are lobbying to come to the state to spend about three months and they will withdraw them and send another batch. How long will it take to solve this problem? It is a big problem and we need to solve it. When there is no security, there is no government. You are governor, yet you protect yourself as if you are going to a war front. When I was governor, I drove myself. Everyone in Sokoto is aware of this because at that time there was no insecurity. I drove myself and I went everywhere I wanted to go alone. But now, it is a different thing all together. You have to get yourself protected. Half of the security agents are around the governors, leaving the people outside with nothing.

 

Have you offered any advice on the matter?

We don’t have anything to say. Now, if I advise the government on what to do people will start saying you are wrong, you are wrong. As an elderly man, I worked during the northern region, I worked for the northwestern state government, I worked for Sokoto State and I worked for the federal government. I was a District Officer. I was in Bida, I was in Lapai etc. I know how to run a government. But if you offer advice or you say anything, people will think that you are taking over government and you are an enemy. But I am only telling government so that the problem can be solved. 

I am a card carrying member of the APC, but if I say something, they will say I am not doing it correctly. There are people around the seat of government who will say you are criticising government, but it is not so. Offering advice is different from criticism. I cannot destroy the government of my party, but I can advise. 

Like I told you, I was one of those that participated in the campaigns for President Tinubu. Do you think that in 2027, I can go back and tell the people to vote for him?

I am a party member, but because I am living with the people, I know what they are experiencing. I know what they have seen, I know what they have and I know what they are doing. It is very difficult, but if things improve, you join, you help, you assist and you can campaign.  But you cannot campaign when people are in difficulties. How can I go to Zamfara and tell people to do that when I know they are in difficulties. 

If somebody from Zamfara cannot farm, it means he cannot feed himself; then he is experiencing hunger. How can you tell a hungry man to vote? I saw the governor going from house to house giving people rice and other things, but it is just for one day or two. That is not the solution. The solution is to make sure that people are free to fend for themselves and they can go anywhere to work and get money. That is what we are supposed to do; to ensure that people are protected. I know our people can feed themselves. I have a large farm in my local government, but people advised me not to go there. Before, each time I had to go to the farm, I would inform the DPO and he would send police to protect me. Then, I asked myself; why am I doing this, so I stopped farming. In the last three years, I haven’t gone there. 

We want protection; we want people to live without fear. If large towns like Gusau, Jangebe, Maradun and Kaura Namoda are being attacked, what about the smaller villages. They just run over them, take their women, take their animals and whatever they want and that is all. There is no improvement in security and something must be done to make sure our people are protected. We don’t want anything from the government apart from security. Security is paramount in whatever you are giving to the people. Children don’t go to schools. Go to rural areas; you will find them half empty. 

 

What do you think should be done now?

The security operatives should wake up. A lot of money is being pumped into security. We have seen the officers; we have seen what they do. We have seen the officers who are heading security outfits; we have seen what they are doing. So, why can’t they do the right thing? If you cannot fight, why did you join the army? We have a problem in Nigeria. You see, if your son gets all As in his final year examination and he wants to go to the NDA; go and see if he can get into NDA. It is their people that will go, their sons and relatives. So those that are recruited, they cannot fight. Let the ordinary people who can fight be allowed to join the army.  People who want to fight should be allowed to get into the police. That is the problem of Nigeria now. We are not allowing the right people to get in. If the right people will be recruited into the army, this problem will be solved.