For over a decade now, Zamfara state is been facing serious challenges of insecurity as a result of the activities of the dreaded group of a...
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For over a decade now, Zamfara state is been facing serious challenges of insecurity as a result of the activities of the dreaded group of armed bandits, a situation which led to the killing of over three thousand innocent civilians across the state. This ugly trend also caused a lot of predicaments among other things, the proliferation of arms and ammunition, the destructions of thousands of houses, rendering thousands of citizens homeless, a high rate of internally displaced persons, and abject poverty among others.
Zamfara state as an agrarian state in the northwest now became a non-agrarian state due to insecurity bedevilled the state where thousands of hectares of farmland are inaccessible to both large and small-scale farmers to cultivate every rainy season, this also generated a lot of socioeconomic setbacks since the beginning of banditry in the state.
The state has fourteen local government areas namely, Anka, Bakura, Bungudu, Bukkuyum, Gusau, Burning Magaji, Kaura Namoda, Gummi, Maradun, Maru, Talata Mafara, Tsafe and Shinkafi and Zurmi which was created by-laws by the federal government and to provide social amenities to the people at grassroots, been the government very closed to grassroots but unfortunately, the insecurity has touched all the local government areas.
The state has been blessed with seventeen Emirates such as Gusau, Anka, Gummi, Maradun, Maru, Talata Mafara, Tsafe, Dansadau, Moriki, Burning Magaji, Kaura Namoda, Gummi Kwatarkwashi, Bakura, Bungudu, Bukkuyum, Shinkafi and Zurmi as well as 147 districts but unfortunately almost all these Emirates and districts were affected by banditry.
The issue of kidnapping had also contributed vigorously towards putting the citizens of the state into serious abject poverty in which over one billion Naira goes to bandits as ransom by the affected communities in the last ten years and thousands of married women have become widows and many children turned to orphans in the state.
What I am trying to emphasize here is that since the formal inauguration of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP the ruling party in the state on the 29th May 2023, under Dr Dauda Lawal Dare as substantive elected governor of the state, the activities of armed bandits has on the increase almost on daily basis across the state, the local government areas affected seriously with bandits nefarious attacks currently are, Maradun, Talata Mafara, Tsafe, Gusau, Anka, Bakura, Bungudu, Bukkuyum, Shinkafi, Maru, Zurmi, Burning Magaji, Kaura Namoda where the bandits are launching attacks, killing and kidnapping innocent civilians in the affected areas.
This resurgence of banditry has forced many people to leave their ancestral domain and the issue of farming in this year's farming season does not arise for them as the bandits banned all farming activities in some parts of the state, my perception here is the fact that there is going to be serious alarming of starvation among the teeming populaces in Zamfara state if proactive measures have not been taken by both the federal and state governments in containing the nefarious activities of these dreaded groups of armed terrorists in the state.
However, it is a seriously devastating moment how almost all the major highways linking to Zamfara state from neighbouring states of Katsina, Kebbi, Kaduna and Sokoto have become a deathtrap where kidnapping and attacks on motorists are on the increase almost every day, most especially Gusau-Funtua highway, Marabar Mayanchi to Anka- Gummi highway, Gusau-Kaura Namoda to Shinkafi, Kaura Namoda to Zurmi-Jibiya Highway, Gusau-Dansadau Highway to mention but a few hence the need for the security agencies to redoubtable more commitments in safeguarding these roads effectively.
I am not in the opinion to support any plan by the state government for making peace dialogue with these heartless terrorists but suggesting that the state government must collaborate with the federal government and security agencies to ensure total mitigation of these dreaded groups of terrorists for the restoration of peace in the state. This could not be achieved without the support of the entire citizens when necessary, particularly by giving positive information about their hideouts(Terrorists Bandits and their informants) to security agencies for a prompt response.
I was opportune to read reports published by some National dailies recently that no fewer than twenty-six people, seven soldiers killed by the group of dreaded group of armed bandits at Kangon Garacci Village under Dangulbi district of Maru local government area of Zamfara state, the bandits had also invaded Talata Madara town, the headquarters of Talata Mafara local government area of Zamfara state and kidnapped ten workers of one of the reputable road construction company popularly known as Triacta construction company Ltd, and also a day after, the armed bandits have kidnapped twenty-three female in Damaga district of Maradun local government area of Zamfara state who were busy to get some firewood in the nearby forest in the area, this is indeed a devastating moment to every zamfara right thinking person wherever he or she is currently living.
Another challenge which needs proactive measures to be seriously taken is the activities of informants among the innocent community who are given information to bandits, which can enable them to carry their operations easier against innocent civilians in the state particularly kidnapping, attacks and rustling the community belongings is totally worrisome.
The security agencies must use all mechanisms and technical advancement operations in tracking all communications among people in the state particularly the areas where insecurity has become a serious alarming in order to find out those informants or bandits collaborators for them to be arrested and faced the wrath of the laws. This could not be achieved also without the support of the entire citizens of the state to security agencies by feeding positive information that could lead to arresting informants.
With this development, I want to appeal to federal and Zamfara state governments under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Dr. Dauda Lawal Dare as well as all stakeholders in the state not to politicize the issue of insecurity and give much-needed emphasis on it to tackle it squarely by fighting against these dreaded group of armed bandits terrorists for peace to thrive in the state.
Audu Shafa'atu Abdullahi is a 200 Level student of Dept. of Mass Communication, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria
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