Zamfara is different from Katsina and any other states – a response to the call for declaration of state of emergency in Zamfara
and Katsina states by Dr Abubakar Alkali.
In its column VISTA of 5th March, 2021, the Blueprint Newspaper published an article by one Dr Abubakar Alkali. In the write up captioned “Reasons Buhari should declare state of emergency in Zamfara, Katsina”, Dr Abubakar Alkali urged President Muhammadu Buhari to …”as a matter of urgency exercise the powers granted him in section 305 subsection 3(c) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and declare a state of emergency in Zamfara and Katsina states.”
According to him, “There is a clear breakdown of law and order particularly in these two states where bandits and kidnappers are on the loose, reigning havoc on communities and killing innocent citizens……
“Indeed, provision of security to lives and property is the primary purpose of government as contained in section 14(2)(b) of the 1999 constitution (as altered).”
Thank you Dr Abubakar Alkali for recognising the fact that “provision of security to lives and property is the primary purpose of government as contained in section 14(2)(b) of the 1999 constitution (as altered).”Hence, Governors and or leaders are expected to do anything possible within the framework of the law to ensure the safety and security of lives and property of their people which is what Governor Bello Muhammed Mutawallen Maradun is currently doing to protect the lives and property of Zamfara state people.
As an academia, a Doctor in that matter, a lecturer and an indigene of Zamfara state from Shinkafi local( one of the bandits strongest holds in Nigeria), a scholar whose education was funded with the state resources, you think you have nothing to offer in the search for peace for your people and state, to get them out of the 11 year mayhem, but praying for more hardships to befall them? Dr you haven’t been fair to your brothers and sisters in your own state.
Dr Alkali in his article also revealed: “Being a victim of kidnapping myself, I believe that the declaration of a state of emergency is appropriate in these two states particularly in Zamfara to restore normalcy before the kidnappers and bandits push Nigeria to the point of ‘no return.”
What type of normalcy are you talking about Doctor Alkali ?
To take Zamfara state to those days when Shinkafi,your hometown was on bandits attacks almost on daily basis with dozens of your brothers and sisters being killed or to shutdown Shinkafi completely, dying your brothers and sisters their fundamental rights, preventing them from carrying out their legitimate economic and sociopolitical activities?
What will be your gains, when this happens to your state and your own brothers and sisters?
I expected Dr Abubakar Alkali, to as a matter of urgent public importance, advise Mr President to invoke the powers granted to the President in ensuring the security and safety of lives and property of the Nigerian people, hold accountable, those responsible for preventing illegal immigrants from entering Nigeria, those incharge of preventing proliferation of illegal weapons (both light and heavy), those responsible for preventing illegal movements of money, those responsible for the movement of aircrafts and monitoring of airspace, those incharge of crimes prevention, those incharge of protecting the sovereign integrity of our nation and those responsible for providing defence to the nation, etc, for any life lost anywhere in this country, rather than writing articles on the pages of newspapers and on the social media platforms campaigning for additional mayhem to befall our people.
One funny aspect of Dr Abubakar Alkali ‘s call for a state of emergency in Zamfara and Katsina states is the crippling and discrediting his theory of the state of emergency, where he cited example with the earlier state of emergency declared in Borno, Adamawa, Plateau and other states in the Boko Haram ravaged northeastern region of Nigeria.The declaration of the state of emergency as indicated by Doctor Abubakar Alkali did not make any impact, rather worsened the situation there, as the worst days occurred during and after the state of emergency was imposed on the states.
More destruction of lives and property occurred immediately after the state of emergency, and during the state of emergency, thousands of people were forced to migrate out of the country, more IDPs were established due to internally displaced persons, putting people in a state of disrepute.
I don’t know if this is the kind of rhetoric and mayhem Dr Abubakar Alkali is praying for his own people.
Therefore, it is pertinent for me to at this juncture, make use of this medium to call on my friend Dr Abubakar Alkali to revisit his theory, because the issue of armed banditry as it is today surpasses and or is beyond your perceptions.
It is not about declaring state of emergency or no fly zone that ends it.
Ending the banditry activities in the two states and indeed any where in Nigeria is a collective responsibility of all of us.
Informants, dealers and marketers of weapons, food, fuel, other equipment being used by the bandits, the do or die politicians, all should be hunted and dealt with too squarely.
Hundreds of billions of Naira and millions of dollars have been spent and are being spent by both states and federal governments on the fight against the insurgency and banditry activities, but all to no avail since the cooperation and support from these categories of people within the society have not been realized hundred percent, which is responsible for the continued killing and kidnapping of dozens of innocent people by the insurgents and bandits in various parts of the country.
Do you know why the immediate past Governor of Hon Abdulaziz Yari publicly announced his resignation as the Zamfara state Chief Security Officer? If not, just find time to visit and ask him this question.
It is always my firm belief that for Nigeria to succeed in this fight, we must answer the following questions:
From where are these bandits and insurgents and where do they live?
How do they get to Nigeria and how do they recruit our people into thedirty job?
3.What is wrong with our national intelligence network?
What types of weapons are they using?
Where do they get the weapons?
Who supply them with these weapons?
Who gives them information they used in carrying out their heinous crimes?
Who supply them foods, fuel and vehicles they used?
Where do they get the helicopters they used in distributing the weapons and other materials and equipment they used against the Nigerian security forces?
From where are they getting their funding?
Why did it take the Nigerian security forces this long to end the war against the insurgents and bandits in the country?
Unless and until when we provide answers to these questions, it will take time and very difficult to win the war.
This is why the Executive Gov of Zamfara state Hon Bello Muhammed Mutawallen Maradun felt the only way for him to safe the lives and property of his people as required by the Nigerian constitution, which Dr Abubakar Alkali quoted above, is to dialogue with the bandits, understand their grievances and offer the possible solutions, rather than waiting for a solution that is not in sight.
I am surprised to this call by my friend Dr Abubakar Alkali, being an indigene of Zamfara state, who knew fully Zamfara state is quite different from any other states in Nigeria.
Zamfara state is a heterogeneous and politically fragmented society that is fragile, its affairs must be handled differently, with utmost care.
Dr Abubakar Alkali should have known these facts before requesting the President to invoke the powers granted to him by the Nigerian constitution to declare the state of emergency in the state.
Come back home, Gov Bello Muhammed Mutawallen Maradun’ operates an open door policy government and his doors are widely opened to anyone having anything to offer in ending banditry in Zamfara state.
You should take a cue from Borno state where all their Professors, Doctors and indeed even opposition politicians with their social media handlers rally round the Gov to make him successful in the fight against insurgency in the state.
This is why there has never been such crazy social media fake news against Gov Zulum in the fight against Boko Haram insurgents.
Ibrahim Dosara
Commissioner Information,
Zamfara state
7/3/2021
