The Katsina State governor, Dikko Radda, has it is difficult to tackle insecurity because some security personnel and government officials have commercialised banditry in Nigeria.
The governor who said this when he appeared on Friday’s edition of Channels TV’s Politics Today, lamented that the perpetrators of the henious crime lure youth into banditry with as low as N500, bemoining poverty and lack of education as key drivers.
He said, “Now it has turned out to be a business venture. A business venture for the criminals, some people who are in government; and some people who are in security outfits, and some people who are responsible for the day-to-day activities of their people.
“These are so many reasons why we are unable to bring banditry to an end.”
Lately, criminal bands locally known as bandits have repeatedly attacked and ravaged rural communities in Nigeria.
President Bola Tinubu has made eliminating insecurity a priority.
Many people relate the insecurity to politics. But Governor Radda claims that poverty and injustice are important motivators.
The governor continued: ”The issue of the hypothesis behind political motive as responsible for banditry is not true.”
As part of moves to tackle the region’s insecurity, some northern governors were on a trip to the US. Though they came under heavy criticism for the meeting with many wondering why it was not held in Nigeria, Radda has said they were only invited to the parley.
“The meeting was not at the instance of the selected governors of northern states but it was at the instance of the United States Institute of Peace. They were the people who invited us; they hosted us for the meeting. We were invited to sit with them so that we could bring about lasting solutions to the problems that are affecting our people,” he said.
Governor Radda said the trip gave the governors fresh insights into insecurity in the region.
Follow the Sahara Reporters channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaFClvtH5JM6SSsP7M2Y
