This is not the best of time for residents of Katsina State which is the home state of President Muhammadu Buhari as they are complaining bitterly about the deteriorating security situation in the state. Residents lamented that hardly can a day go by without a case of insecurity.
The series of attacks by the bandits which they launched both day and night have sacked so many villagers who have vacated their villages and relocated to safer places such as Niger Republic. Some have even resorted to protest, barricading highways to express their displeasure over the situation.
Among the 12 Local Government Areas that are worst hit are Jibia, Batsari, Safana, Kankara, Faskari, Dandume, Danmusa and Sabuwa.
Hon. Aminu Garba Danmusa, a member representing Danmusa constituency at the Katsina State House of Assembly had accused President Muhammadu Buhari of betraying and abandoning the people of the state to suffer in the hands of bandits who daily kill their people and rustle their cattle. Danmusa is one of the front line LGAs worst hit by the activities of bandits.
Garba-Danmusa in a short video clip trending on social media said Buhari had done nothing to contain insecurity in his home state. The lawmaker said it was time to speak out as the residents were no longer going to pretend or deceive themselves that all was well when things were not well.
According to him, “It’s not today that it started. We (Katsina people) have been betrayed and abandoned. We gave the largest votes in the country to elect him as the President. The bandits attack our communities on a daily basis.
“In Danmusa, we have about 80 personnel under the special squad but their presence does not stop the bandits from carrying out their atrocities of killing people or rustling cattle in the area. I was forced to tell them to their face that they should pack their things and vacate the area and I’m not regretting what I said because this is why our people elected us here, to represent them in the house. I don’t have any other place like my hometown, Danmusa but I can’t go back home because they are killing our people, carting away their cattle and other property as well as setting their houses ablaze. Is that how we will fold our arms and keep saying the same thing all the time.
“We have security personnel in our communities but they are not doing anything. All of them are also living in fear. It is very unfortunate. There is a problem. Only God and Buhari can address this problem. If the government can address the issue today, they can put an end to it within a week. What offence have we committed against Buhari? We elected him the president as someone from Katsina but today no state is worst hit by insecurity like Katsina. We have to stop deceiving ourselves and say the truth. The situation is deteriorating every day and I’m not regretting what I am saying.
“What have we done to deserve this from Buhari? He is called Commander-in-Chief but this insecurity persists both day and night. They kidnapped a girl and her parents. They watched helplessly as the bandits sexually harassed the girl in the presence of the parents. And here we are, we keep mute as things get spoilt by the day. These things affect all of us, let’s mobilize ourselves, traditional and religious leaders and meet the President to know what offence we have committed to deserve this,” Garba-Danmusa said.
Similarly, Umar Tata, a former All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, Guber candidate who is now back to the All Progressives Congress, APC, spoke in same vein. He told Vanguard that he had lost confidence in the present administration to bring an end to insecurity in the area and the country at large.
When asked what was the way forward, Tata said, “Sincerely speaking, I have lost confidence in the ability of this government to give us the security that we need. Giving advice is just a waste of time because we have given advice but they would not listen. They assume nobody knows anything apart from them. Maybe when another government comes, things will change.”
He added, “We in Katsina don’t know what we have done to this government. We showed the President love. We voted him, we gave him the second largest votes but he has not reciprocated. He has done nothing for us. This is the same Buhari that overthrew Shehu Shagari in the name of nepotism but go to Daura and see how everywhere is tarred while other parts of the state have nothing to show. Was it only Daura that voted for him? So we are completely abandoned. In fact, it’s not even a case of being abandoned, it’s like we have offended the government and we are being paid back for it. What have we done?”
Reacting to the Security Challenges (Containment) Order signed by Governor Masari, Tata said, “It is exposed the failure of the security agencies. You don’t need to close the market, stop the inter state transportation of livestock if we can control supply of arms. So let us attack the issue from the main source. You can’t tell me we can’t cut the supply of bullets to those people. If they don’t have bullets will they carry sticks to invade villages. So, instead of taking the problem to the bandits, you took it to the innocent people. You shut down the market and stopped the people from making their legitimate means of livelihood and that is even aggravating the situation because some people will be idle. If the Customs Service say they can’t stop the importation of guns, then remove their head because they can kill people who are smuggling rice but they can’t kill those who carry guns and those who smuggle them in,” he said.
Reacting to call by the governor asking the residents to purchase guns for self defence, Tata said, “sometimes ago, people of Gwanzo village in Kurfi LGA decided to defend themselves. They took arms and succeeded in killing some of the bandits. Suddenly, the police descended on the village and arrested so many of the people including the village head who we struggled to get out. The remaining people were all sentenced to death and are in correctional facility awaiting execution.
“So, I ask the governor that if truly he meant what he said by telling us to defend ourselves, he should do two things. One is to grant general amnesty to everyone who has a reason to engage the bandits in a fight and in the process killed the bandit. Secondly, if he agreed that we should take up arms, he should make it a law so that we will not run foul of the provision of the law that prohibits possession of fire arms.” Tata said.