A Coalition of Community-Based Organisations in Zamfara State has urged the state government to increase its cooperation with the Federal Government to tackle security challenges.
The Coalition leader and chairman of the Zamfara Progressive Movement for Peace and Development (ZAPPDE), Alhaji Adamu Danyaula, made the call on behalf of the group at the end of an advocacy meeting on Saturday in Sokoto.
Danyaula appealed to the state government to urgently review its approaches and give full attention to collaboration with the Federal Government to achieve success in the fight against insecurity.
He explained that people in Zamfara state suffers more now on security challenges, hunger and depression and urged elected leaders at the federal and state levels to fine-tune modalities to end the challenges and political bickering that is destroying cohesion in the state.
”We are worried that many people whose means of livelihood depend on farming in our rural areas can no longer go to the farm while the few ones have to pay bandits during planting and harvesting.
”Education in Zamfara is abysmally low, the continued escalating insecurity has further worsened the situations and we all know that education is key to having a progressive society, ” Danyaula said.
He called on Gov. Dauda Lawal to join hands with relevant federal government agencies on handling the escalating security challenges that are becoming worrisome in parts of the state instead of showcasing his weakness on leadership.
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”Many communities were displaced, thousands of people lost their homes and businesses; they are now leaving in shelters as refugees along with surviving families, ”
Danyaula then cautioned the state government on ignoring the chances of cooperating with the federal government, especially the ministry of defense toward sustaining efforts in the fight against insecurity and keep political differences aside for a betterment of people.
”To be specific, bandits are now holding many enclaves around Tsafe, Dansadau, Shinkafi, Maru, Bukkuyum and Zurmi communities.
“Bandits activities are becoming so disturbing around roads linking to Talata Mafara to Mayanci and Bungudu while other suspected bandits have been disturbing road to Tsafe, Magazu and Wanzamai, yet Zamfara state government is not ready to sacrifice their ego to cooperate with higher authority,” he added.
The Coalition commended President Bola Tinubu, on his directive for military operations especially air and ground operations being conducted in many of the enclaves of bandits at Sabon Birni in Sokoto state and Tsafe in Zamfara and Birnin Gwari in Kaduna respectively.
They also applauded efforts of the Minister of state Defence, Mohammed Bello Matawalle on his intervention, concern and additional mobilisation of military support to some prone areas of attacks in order to fish out bandits for successful fight against insecurity; stressing that the recent interventions in Tsafe, Magazu, Dansadau, Shinkafi, Isa, Illela and Bukkuyum have yielded much success in crippling bandits movement in Zamfara and Sokoto states.
NIGERIAN TRIBUNE