N'West and N'Central await Badaru and Matawelle as bandits step up killings

The two new Defense Ministers, Muhammed Badaru and Bello Matawelle, take office as banditry in the country, particularly in the North-West and Center-North, has not yet decreased. SOLOMON ODENIYI writes about the Herculean task facing the two former governors

As stated in President Bola Tinubu's manifesto, the safety of life and property is one of his administration's top priorities.

To restructure the country's security architecture, Tinubu on June 19 appointed new department heads to replace those he inherited from his predecessor.

But since taking office, the strenuous efforts of these department heads have failed to end the wanton killings and kidnappings they inherited from their predecessors.

Unfortunately, under their regime, there were a few attacks, including the murder of a cleric and five farmers and the kidnapping of more than 40 people in Kaduna on July 30. Recently, bandits ambushed the Nigerian army. and killed three officers and 22 soldiers in this clash in Niger State.

All these incidents have made the task ahead of the new Minister of Defense, Muhammed Badaru, and the Minister of State Defense, Bello Matawelle, daunting.

Some then insinuate that the duo have no experience in security and that the position should have been reserved for retired military personnel due to the ongoing war against insecurity in many many parts of the country.< /p>

This has raised concerns in some quarters about their ability to fulfill their mission given the many security challenges facing the country.

The two ministers should make an extra effort to overcome the many obstacles that weigh on them, in particular by reducing the cases of banditry which plague the regions from which they come.

A survey by the News Agency of Nigeria on August 20, 2023 indicates that as many as 23 local government areas are under the control of bandits in Sokoto, Zamfara and Kebbi.

Badaru, the defense minister, served as governor of Jigawa State for eight years. During his tenure as state governor, he oversaw one of the most peaceful states in the country.

A report on killings in the country published by Saturday PUNCH on October 23, 2023, showed that 55 people were killed in the state by non-state actors between May 29, 2015 and October 2022 .< /p>

The data used for the report was obtained from the Nigerian Security Tracker, a project of the Council on Foreign Relations of the United States of America.

Revealing the measures put in place to combat insecurity in his state during the "Business Made Easy" report by the presidential council favorable to the business environment, in 2002, Badaru said that c was because he had identified the root cause of the problem.

"If suspicious figures come to Jigawa, we receive information from the resident Fulani that such people have arrived, and we do not trust them," Badaru added.

He said that states facing banditry were those that did not have a policy similar to Jigawa's.

"But it hasn't been handled well elsewhere, and that's probably why you're seeing this escalation. And some states have been hit by the threat due to their proximity to bandit-prone states.

“If they had handled the problem the same way as Jigawa, this could not have happened,” he added.

Apart from this, Badaru's administration is said to have invested in strengthening the security infrastructure within the state. This included equipping and training security personnel, as well as building their coordination and intelligence-sharing capabilities, which helped law enforcement be well prepared to maintain public order. /p>

While the people of Jigawa enjoyed relative peace during Badaru's reign as governor, the same could not be said for Matawelle.

Matawelle experienced a difficult security situation characterized by endemic banditry, kidnappings and other criminal activities.

The security situation in the state has led Matawalle to resort to a combination of conventional and unconventional measures to restore security and peace in Zamfara State.

One ​​of the most notable features of Matawalle's approach was his willingness to engage in dialogue with the bandits. This unconventional method aimed to address the root causes of conflict and explore pathways to peace. Although controversial, the dialogue initiative was seen as a pragmatic effort to ease tensions and bring bandits to the negotiating table.

To further restore peace to his state, the Matawelle administration introduced amnesty programs aimed at rehabilitating repentant bandits. These programs included...