President Muhammadu Buhari’s directive to the security agencies to launch a new effort to eradicate insurgents in the northwestern state of Katsina comes at a time when many residents of the state have decided. their admiration for the security efforts of the security agencies to solve the problem.
Katsina state, like other northwestern states such as Zamfara and Kaduna, has long been plagued by gunmen who kill people, steal their property and rape women.
Security analysts estimate that these attacks have resulted in hundreds of deaths and the deaths of thousands and their homes.
The Nigerian president, in a statement issued by his spokesman, Malam Garba Shehu, told reporters on Sunday that he has vowed to take all necessary measures to crush the gunmen who attacked the state.
According to Garba Shehu, measures include attacking the militants’ positions instead of letting them attack the crowd before responding.
However, it seems that the statements of the president of Nigeria, which he has been doing for a long time, do not go to the attention of the people of Katsina state and even to security observers who see President Buhari, a native of Katsina state. But nothing can change if warlords are not killed by what the Hausa people call a genocide.
Even over the weekend, some residents of the Jibia Local Government Area protested the indignity of their leaders over their alleged involvement in the security of the state.
Meanwhile, some Katsina state lawmakers have voiced their disapproval of the state and federal government’s efforts to address the issue, saying they do not see the president’s actions being taken to end the attacks.
In fact, some of the residents of Katsina state are continuing to emigrate to other areas of the state that are insecure, as well as some states, to survive. Some Nigerien people have also come to seek refuge.
A resident of Dutsinma told the BBC that militant attacks in the area had become a nightmare and President Buhari’s claim to solve the state’s security problem would have no effect.
Not only in Dutsinma Local Government Area, but also in Safana, Batsari, Danmusa, Kurfi and Dutsinma we are in a constant state of shock. Almost always these militants carry out constant attacks. Almost everything is scattered.” in twenty days there is no day that you will not feel that they have gone to death, raped or plundered property, or have done everything at once ”, according to the person who did not want to be named.
He added that they were worried because they were not sure what would happen to them at any given time, adding that it was unfortunate that the security forces did not take them until they were attacked.
According to him, the government has no intention of protecting them despite its ability to do so, adding that “it has been a long time coming and going. It has not happened today; almost five years after the government was started.” “We started to face these problems. The president has never gone to launch Operation Shares. What is it? The money was spent on buying uniforms and weapons but nothing was done.”
Security experts in Nigeria such as Mallam Kabiru Adamu said the need to change the way the militia operates at the grassroots level, both at the local, state, and federal levels is needed to address this problem in Katsina.
According to him, “The recommendations contained in the 2019 Security Declaration should be implemented. They should be implemented urgently. What is happening [in Katsina] is more than just the military; it needs to cooperate with the federal government. of the state and the countries beyond this state to be overcome. ”
Security analysts expect that the state of Katsina will continue to carry out such attacks if no security measures are taken in the neighboring states, because if the militants are expelled from the states. Neighbors go back to Katsina state, and if they are driven from Katsina they return to their neighbors.
And even if this problem is not in one state. According to a report by the International Crisis Group, an international conflict investigator has said that more than 8000 people have been killed in the north-eastern part of the country over the past decade. According to the group, it was launched in Zamfara State and spread to Katsina, Sokoto, Kebbi and even Niger State in the north.
She said efforts to control the situation have now failed.
Like other observers, the International Crisis Group says agencies at different levels must strengthen reconciliation, disarm the militia, improve the lives of the public and strengthen the security forces’ physical operations. as long as you want to end the violence.
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