Mustapha M. Shehu
Last week, the Nigerian media was awash with reports of allegations by Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan Ali, that traditional rulers of Zamfara State should be blamed for the activities of bandits terrorising the state.
Indeed, it is disheartening that the Minister of Defence could blame emirs for the activities of bandits in Zamfara. It is unfortunate that the minister, who is supposed to be at the forefront of the fight against this menace, is only laying blames, instead of mobilising resources to combat of this scourge.
What should Mansur Dan Ali tell the people of Zamfara State and indeed all Nigerians about the security challenges in his home state? How could he convince the people of Nigeria that he is worthy of being a minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, when he could not tackle the bandits terrorising his home local government and state?
For me, Dan Ali’s allegations against the emirs or any other person, groups or organisations, is rather chasing shadows. About three years or so ago, the minister was asked why the ministry of defence refused to employ the services of the Nigeria Air Force to bombard these same bandits and he said, “Do you know how much a bomb costs? It costs over a hundred US dollars. This is costly.”
Again, he was asked why youths were not being massively recruited to help in tackling the bandits. The minister said there weren’t facilities to maintain a large number of such recruits.
It may be recalled that the opposition, which criticised Gov. Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara State and his government over the security challenges in the state, indicted one of the Zamfara State’s government officials, leading to the arrest of that officer. The accused official was later released on the grounds of being cleared of the allegations.
These and many more factors and reasons that are also politically-motivated have been causing carnage in Zamfara State and beyond. Therefore, it is time to say goodbye to the politics of do-or-die.
•Shehu wrote from Tudun Wada, Gusau, Zamfara State.