Governors drawn from the northwest region of the country have urged President Muhammadu Buhari to rally all leaders of the Sahel region to come together and fight the menace of insecurity that has become intractable in the sub-region.
They made the call yesterday in Katsina state at the plenary of the multilateral security meeting on border security of Maradi, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara states and Maradi region.
The Sahel regions are Senegal, Gambia, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Nigeria. They also include; Cameroon, Chad, Central African Republic, South Sudan, Sudan and Eritrea.
The region which according to them, is inundated by frequent attacks of marauders and insurgents, dry climate, food and water shortages, they suggested a summit be conveyed, as they believed would go a long way in addressing the common challenge of insecurity facing the region.
Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto state, said “I urge President Muhammadu Buhari to rally all leaders of the Sahel region to come together and fight the menace of insecurity that has become intractable in the sub-region.”
Adding that “There is a need for greater collaboration and cooperation between the leaders of the region to beat back terrorism.”
He expressed gratitude to Presidents Mohamed Bazoum of Niger Republic and Muhammadu Buhari for their kind approval to convene the meeting while applauding the efforts of the security outfits for their operations
He was observed to have also appealed to all citizens in Niger Republic and Nigeria to cooperate with the security operatives in both countries to stem the tide of insecurity.
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On his part, the Governor of Maradi, Chaibou Boubacar, who was also the convener of the meeting, noted that the sub-region is in dire distress this rainy season. “Bandits have made it difficult for locals to farm and move around freely,” he observed, thus the need for the meeting.
“We have had so many meetings in the past, but we’re yet to demonstrate unity of purpose to confront the issues of insecurity,” Boubacar observed as he expressed appreciation to all the security agencies for their proactive efforts so far.
Also speaking, Governor Aminu Bello Masari, who hosted the meeting, urged participants to think out of the box and come up with useful suggestions that will help to bring the problem of insecurity to an end.
He said in its efforts to tackle the problem, the state government has established a 3-tier security structure. “Much is being done. Nonetheless, government must continue to explore more ways.”
Aligning his weight to the aforementioned speakers, the deputy governor of Zamfara state, Hassan Muhammad Nasiha, admitted that
the “sub region has been battling with insecurity for over a decade.”
The conflicts “has escalated over the states bringing about food shortages, dislocations and other inconveniences” adding that, the state government has been employing kinetic and non-kinetic approaches to arrest the situation.
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