President Muhammadu Buhari has issued a directive to the seven governors in the North West zone to end banditry.
This was disclosed yesterday by the Kebbi State Governor, Mr. Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, in Birnin Kebbi during a peace, security and unity meeting initiated by the state government and Fulani elders.
Bagudu said the directive by the president was to ensure the urgent restoration of normalcy and to achieve peace and security in the zone.
The governor said, “President Buhari is fully committed to adequately protecting the lives and properties of all law-abiding and peaceful citizens of the country”.
He appealed to Nigerians to be less apprehensive in confronting the bandits whom he described as enemies of peace and unity, saying, “they are a negligible few and we should all brace the odds. The issue of ensuring security in the nation is a collective responsibility; all hands must be on deck in this direction”.
He said as governors, they were not elected only to stay in the office, but to do anything to safeguard lives and properties of all law-abiding citizens in the states.
“We have to do everything to guarantee peace, unity and security, even to the extent of sacrificing our lives as ordained by religious scriptures, ” he said.
He explained that the Fulani stakeholders’ meeting was aimed at reviewing the progress made, and tackle the challenges, with a view to proffering plausible solutions to the security challenge.
He added that his government had set up a steering committee to look into grazing reserves, cattle routes as well as resolve lingering contentious issues between farmers and Fulani herdsmen in order to achieve peace and security in the state.
Bagudu, therefore, vowed to sustain the ongoing efforts by his administration to improve the lives of the Fulani through livestock and dairy production, Fulani women empowerment, as well as enhance other forms of farming activities through the N1.7bn loan his administration had secured.
