Former Kaduna State Military Governor, Col. Abubakar Umar (retd.) has berated President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration for giving undue attention to the arrest of the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu than the sensitive issue of banditry, kidnapping and killing ravaging the country.
The former governor who knocked the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led federal government in a statement titled, ‘Nigeria: A nation challenged’ said, Buhari must go beyond the arrest of Kanu and pay more attention to more security challenges threatening to cripple the Nation.
Umar argued that it was disturbing that rather than concentrating on insecurity threatening to cripple the country, the Buhari regime was celebrating the arrest of the IPOB leader.
Speaking on Wednesday, Umar 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 consequence, “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 lamented those 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.
“The 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,” he added.
Umar, however, counselled the government to deploy non-violent means in addressing the growing restiveness in the South-East of the country.
