A former military governor of Kaduna state, Col. Dangiwa Umar (rtd), has said the President Muhammadu Buhari administration chose to focus on a lesser problem in the Southern part of the country instead of the monsters causing his people in the North, sleepless nights.
He said while he does not support the disintegration of the country, he however, said those agitating for Self-Determination are victims of a faulty system which if fixed, would end their agitations.
He said the same is however, not the case with those terrorizing Nigerians on a daily basis, but which the current government seem to not be doing enough to address.
Dangiwa who stated this in a statement in Kaduna, said the activities of bandits and insurgents have resulted in the evacuation of over 20 per cent of the villages in North West and North east, while hundreds of people were being murdered, maimed and kidnapped for ransom every week as million of others have been rendered internally displaced, facing disease and starvation.
He said bandits had abducted over 1,000 school children in the north in the past eight months, adding that over 300 others are still in captivity, with the bandits demanding humongous ransom payments. This sad situation according to him, deserves more attention and federal energy compared to agitations by separatist groups in the country.
He said, “The recent rearrest of the IPOB leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, was greeted with a loud sigh of relief and celebration in some sections of the country.
“It also elicited congratulatory messages to the federal government which appears overwhelmed by the intractable security challenges and in dire need of any redeeming act.
“This is clearly an exaggeration of the security threat Nnamdi Kanu and indeed IPOB pose to our nation’s security and unity”.
He said, “It is quite strange and disturbing that the federal government is according undue attention to the threats of separatist movements in contrast to the more daunting ones posed by bandits, kidnappers and insurgents in the North West, some parts of North Central and North East.
“Hundreds are being murdered and maimed every week. Many more are kidnapped for ransom”.
“Over 1,000 school children were abducted in the past 8 months with over 300 still in the hands of the bandits and kidnappers demanding humongous ransom payments.
“Rape of women and young girls has become a daily occurrence. Most economic activities, particularly farming, which is the mainstay of the people in these areas, are now all but impossible.
“Government’s earlier claim of having technically defeated the Boko Haram insurgency in the North east has turned out to be empty propaganda”, he said.
Speaking further, he said, “Contrary to this claim, the enemy has morphed into a more determined and deadly force, threatening to overrun the whole of the North east.
“For the average northerner living in these zones, who is barely aware of the activities of separatists, banditry, kidnappings and insurgency are of greater threat and concern to him.”
“The arrest of Nnamdi Kanu is of no serious consequence, since it does nothing to ameliorate this harsh and brutal condition (in the North.)”
He however noted that while every citizen or groups have the right to express the desire for self determination, the use of violence should not be supported or condone.
“IPOB and its leader may well be responsible for some of the violence, including the murder of security personnel, arson and destruction of public and private properties for which they should be held to account.
“We must however be honest enough to identify the cause of the current growing restiveness in the South East”, Umar said.
He called on the government to deploy nonviolent means in addressing the problem of people agitating for self determination.
“It is self evident that justice, fairness and equity are the best means of building a united and virile nation, particularly one as diverse and fragile as Nigeria," he added.