The Secretary to the Zamfara State Government (SSG), Malam Abubakar Mohammad Nakwada, has reiterated the commitment of Governor Dauda Lawal’s administration to address the underlying socioeconomic factors contributing to insecurity in the state.
Nakwada disclosed this while delivering a goodwill message as a special guest at the opening ceremony of the first International Conference organized by the Faculty of Humanities, Federal University Gusau, on Saturday.
The SSG, who was represented at the event by the Permanent Secretary, Cabinet Affairs, Dr. Lawal Hussein, said the conference, themed: “Rethinking Security Through the Lens of Humanities for National Development,” is timely and aligned with the vision of Governor Lawal’s administration for ensuring the safety and security of lives and property of the people.
“It is both timely and appropriate to reflect on the role of the humanities in tackling the multifaceted challenges of security.”
“By integrating the insights and methodologies offered by the humanities, we can explore new and innovative approaches to understanding and mitigating the root causes of insecurity.”
He added that although this administration has taken a bold step against negotiating with terrorists, which leads to the establishment of Community Protection Guards to assist conventional security forces, they are also committed to collaborating with relevant stakeholders to explore other non-kinetic measures to address the underlying socioeconomic factors contributing to insecurity in the state.
“This administration has introduced comprehensive measures that integrate community engagement and strengthen collaboration with relevant stakeholders to foster a unified response to insecurity.”
“Recognizing that security is not only a matter of enforcement, we are therefore addressing the underlying socio-economic factors such as poverty, unemployment, lack of access to quality education, and social justice, which often contribute to instability.”
While declaring the conference open, the SSG also appealed to the academic community to join forces with the government in looking for viable solutions to the state’s security predicaments, assuring them that the Zamfara State Government is willing and committed to consider and implement the recommendations from the conference that might potentially address some of the challenges affecting the state.