Zamfara state governor, Bello Matawalle, has blamed northern leaders for the numerous problems bedeviling the region.
Matawalle stated this while delivering a paper; ‘The Fight Against Banditry in Northwest Nigeria: Challenges and Solutions,’ at the inauguration of new executives of the Arewa Media Writers Association in Kaduna.
He said the lack of support from some northern leaders is responsible for the region’s plights characterised by the kidnapping of schoolchildren, nursing mothers, and the violent killing of hundreds of other inhabitants.
The governor, represented by the commissioner for information, Ibrahim Magaji, pointed out that Zamfara was already battling worsening insecurity when he assumed power in 2019.
He said; “With poverty on the increase and food security seriously affected by the crisis, the state was on the verge of a catastrophic social eruption capable of destabilising our communities and the North-West sub-region.
“Shinkafi and Zurmi LGAs are the hotspots of banditry even though there are no mining activities going on there.
“Rural banditry in my opinion, is a result of the progressive degradation of our moral standards and a culture of greed fed by an unfettered need for material goods.”
Blaming northern elites for the downward spiral of the region, Matawalle noted the “lack of support from a section of politicians that wish to take advantage of the situation to achieve political ends.
“Unless we all wake up to the situation, the war against banditry in the North-West will remain a significant security challenge that has the potential to swallow the region and the country. The destruction that banditry is wreaking on the region’s people and the economy is unfathomable.”