The Governor of Kaduna State, Uba Sani has recalled efforts to stem insecurity in the Northwest, saying they failed because some former governors of the zone wined and dined with suspected terrorists/bandits.
He described as “extremely wrong,” the approach of the former governors in the management of the internal affairs of their states.
The states in the zone are Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara.
But Sani said all hopes were not lost as the newly inaugurated governors have agreed on a common approach to restoring peace to the zone.
He added that the governors had resolved to depart from the previous idea of giving money to terrorists/bandits.
Sani, who stated this while being featured on a national television programme yesterday, also revealed that they (governors) would meet with President Bola Tinubu on ways of tackling insecurity in the zone.
His words,
“I remember when the Kaduna State Government and some states within the Northwest and even Niger State came together to work out a framework to tackle this issue of insecurity.
“We had a joint committee working closely with all the security agencies comprising the Army, the Air Force and the Police.
“But unfortunately, somewhere along the line, the alliance broke down when some state governors decided to start engaging the bandits and the terrorists sitting with them, winning and dining with them, compensating them and negotiating with them.”
The governor explained that the breakdown of the alliance made him invite the governors of the zone who were inaugurated on May 29 to a meeting on a way forward.
He said,
“Only two weeks ago, I invited all the governors from the North-West to the Kaduna State Liaison Office in Abuja; I hosted them. Irrespective of party differences, they all came; we sat down together and came out with a kind of policy framework to tackle the problem of insecurity in our zone.
“We agreed that we have to have a common approach to the issue and we have to move away from the mistakes made by some previous governors that decided to compromise the operation in the past when they started giving money to the bandits and negotiating with them.”
According to him, the new set of governors was in agreement on the need to tackle the problem and reach out to the Niger State governor, Umar Bago, since we have a similar problem.
“In one of my conversations with him (Tinubu), he agreed that I should bring the governors from the zone to meet with him on the issue of insecurity.
“So, we have to work together with a common agenda, plan and operation. That is the only way we can be able to solve the problem,” he added.
Sani also said that his administration would focus on rural development as a way of improving the livelihood of rural dwellers and addressing insecurity.
The governor added that he would support the 10th National Assembly to fast-track the implementation of the State Police Bill.
The bill, according to him, will help in containing insecurity in the country and giving governors the power to secure their people and property.
Sani also commended the immediate past government of Nasir El-Rufai for the successful implementation of the Kaduna Urban Renewal Project.
