Umar to FG: Fight banditry, insurgency, not Nnamdi Kanu

An ex-military Governor of Kaduna State, Abubakar Umar, on Wednesday, criticised the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Federal Government led by President Muhammadu Buhari for focusing on the arrest of Nnamdi Kanu than banditry, kidnapping wreaking havoc on the nation.

Umar said that it was unsettling that rather than focusing on insecurity threatening to cripple the nation, the Buhari government was celebrating the arrest the IPOB leader, Kanu.

The previous Governor made this known in a statement entitled, ‘Nigeria: A nation challenged.’

Umar declared on Wednesday that the Federal Government must go beyond the arrest of Kanu and pay more attention to more security challenges threatening to cripple the country.

The former Governor stated that for the average northerners living in the North-West and North-East, who had been affected by the activities of banditry, kidnapping and insurgency, the arrest of Kanu had no significance, “since it does nothing to ameliorate his harsh and brutal condition.”

He said, “The re-arrest of the IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu, elicited congratulatory messages to the Federal Government, which appears overwhelmed by the intractable security challenges and in dire need of any redeeming act.

“This is clearly an exaggeration of the security threat Nnamdi Kanu and indeed IPOB pose to our nation’s security and unity. It is quite strange and disturbing that the Federal Government is paying undue attention to the threats of separatist movements in contrast to the more daunting ones posed by bandits, kidnappers and insurgents in the North West, some parts of North-Central and North-East.”

He said the activities of “those criminals have resulted in the evacuation of over 20 per cent the villages in the North-West and North-East. Hundreds are being murdered and maimed every week. Many more are kidnapped for ransom.

“Over 1,000 schoolchildren were abducted in the past eight months with over 300 still in the hands of the bandits and kidnappers who are demanding humongous ransom. Rape of women and young girls has become a daily occurrence. Most economic activities, particularly farming, the mainstay of the people in these areas, are now all but impossible.”

Umar advised the government to deploy non-violent means in tackling the growing agitation in the South-East of the nation.

He added, “IPOB and its leader may well be responsible for some of the violence, including the murder of security personnel, arson and destruction of public and private properties for which they should be held to account.”

While addressing the unity of the nation, the previous Governor maintained that Nigeria was better as one and indivisible entity than disintegration.

Umar criticised the Buhari government for not processing the skills in the management of the country’s diversity.

He said, “Truth be told, the Buhari administration has so far exhibited poor skills in its management of our diversity. Yet it has the benefit of great examples by past administrations and statesmen which should guide it.”