Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State has said good governance, transparency and accountability are critical to ending terrorism, banditry and kidnapping in the 19 northern states.
According to him, his government has adopted kinetic and non-kinetic approaches in addressing the 14-year Boko Haram crises that claimed many lives and property.
Zulum spoke at the weekend at the 10th Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Lecture and Merit Awards, held in Maiduguri at the Government House. He said there were five critical measures that could address insecurity in the northern part of the country.
The lecture was themed: “Creating Pathways for Peace: Tackling banditry and Insurgency through good Governance for Sustainable Development.” It was designed to promote intellectual discourse and reflection on critical issues affecting the northern region and the country at large.
He said the theme highlighted the challenges some of the governors had faced, particularly in the wake of Boko Haram insurgency.
“Good governance is, however, crucial to curbing future occurrences of insurgencies,” he said, lamenting that many lives and property had been lost to the over a decade terrorism in the state.
The governor listed his terrorism fighting measures to include development of infrastructural facilities, reforms of educational system, enhancement of healthcare delivery, empowerment of youths to create jobs and effective collaboration among the military and other security agencies.
He added that towards curbing insurgency and other criminalities the state government had undertaken and completed various projects in health, education, and agriculture sectors.
Zulum said the projects would promote good governance and tackle all forms of insecurity to people’s lives and property. In his remarks, Chairman, Board of Trustees of Foundation and former Governor of Niger State, Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, said the rise in banditry and other forms of insecurity were direct consequences of deep-rooted socio-economic and governance issues.
Nigeria’s former permanent representative to UN, Prof. Tijjani Bande, in a paper titled: “Beyond Lamentation: Uprooting Banditry and Insurgency through Good Governance for Sustainable Development”, said governors had not done enough against insurgents that infiltrated the states.
MEANWHILE, the Niger State Governor, Umar Bago, has advocated return to agriculture to address insecurity and ensure sustainable development in northern Nigeria.
Bago said this in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Bologi Ibrahim, made available to newsmen in Abuja. He said that prior to the discovery of oil in Nigeria, the northern region was globally recognised as a giant in agriculture, saying there was the need to change the narrative by reverting to the old days.
This, according to him, will reduce dependence on Federal Government’s monthly allocations.
