Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
President Muhammadu Buhari has vowed that “harder times’’ await bandits whose disruptive activities have brought sorrow to Nigerians, kept many away from their means of livelihood, and heightened insecurity in parts of the country.
According to him, if Nigeria is not secure, government will not be able to manage the economy properly.
In a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, Buhari made this declaration when he received a delegation of Eminent and Respected Citizens of Niger State, led by Governor Abubakar Sani Bello, in State House, in Abuja, yesterday.
Buhari expressed anger that the activities of bandits has forced many to abandon their farms and homes.
“We will now be harder on them. I was taken aback by what is happening in the North West and other parts of the country. During our campaigns, we knew about the Boko Haram. What is coming now is surprising. It is not ethnicity or religion, rather it is one evil plan against the country.
“We have to be harder on them. One of the responsibilities of government is to provide security. If we don’t secure the country, we will not be able to manage the economy properly,’’ he said.
President Buhari said the onslaught of the bandits had also affected agricultural output in some parts of the country, in spite of the favourable weather for farming, because many farmers were attacked, and others had to stay away for safety.
President Buhari had on ordered air strikes against bandits, kidnappers and cattle rustlers that have been attacking remote communities around Dogon Gona forest in Niger State.
He said the poverty level in the country will be significantly controlled by diversifying into agriculture, instead of the heavy reliance on oil, urging more Nigerians to take up agriculture.
President Buhari said discovery of oil and gas reserves in Chad Basin, Benue trough and Bida, and some parts of Bauchi and Gombe, will further bolster current efforts to strengthen the Nigerian economy.
Buhari advised leaders in the Niger Delta to counsel those who blow up pipelines, resulting in spillages that affect farming and farmlands, noting that the loss had always been collective, sometimes turning hard working farmers to victims.
The Eminent and Respected persons said they needed to show appreciation to the President for his many interventions on infrastructure, security and appointment of indigenes of the state into key positions of government.