The attention of the Zamfara state government has been drawn to an article by one Etim Etim expressing his opinion concerning the issue of insecurity in Zamfara state in particular and Nigeria in general.
The writer who could not explain his identity only ended up in mere rhetorics of the past where critics only cast aspersions, raised criticisms but, without any solution to the problems they were expressing their opinion on.
Mr. Etim, you really paid your masters who assigned and paid you to do the dirty job to satisfy their ulterior motives. However, whatever your pay masters’ reasons are for this write-up, you have succeeded in deceiving them.
The general public is quite aware that Governor Bello Mohammed Matawalle of Zamfara State inherited the problems of rural banditry and has been doing his possible best in seeing the end of the problem and the mayhem being unleashed on the innocent people of Zamfara state. I do not blame you though, because by your name, you don’t even know the road to Zamfara state, let alone knowing the problems surrounding the rural banditry in the northern part of Nigeria.
As a critic, you are expected to have the background knowledge of the problem including its origin, what fuelled it, who sponsored it, where the arms are being obtained, who supply the weapons, why it takes the military eleven years trying to conquer the menace, the military manpower and equipment as well as the porous nature of our borders.
I am therefore, astonished and disgusted by your kind of thinking and comparative analysis between Zamfara armed banditry with the conflict in Liberia, Congo and Sudan. In case you don’t know, let me educate you on Zamfara conflict; the other crisis in those countries you mentioned are purely political. While the crisis in Zamfara state is purely criminality and the shortcomings of the efforts by the military to bring it to an end consequent to the following factors: Inadequate military manpower;Inadequate military gadgets and equipment;The porosity of our boarders which is giving rises to the influx of armed bandits and the weapons from Nigeria’s neighbourhoods.The activities of informants within the rural areas of our states also contribute hugely.
Activities of saboteurs and conflict entrepreneurs. It is therefore, the kind of analysis you gave is unjustifiable by linking the armed banditry with illegal gold mining in Zamfara state. Niger, Kebbi, Kaduna, katsina and of course to some extent Nasarawa states are facing armed banditry and kidnappings without illegal mining taking place in these states.
On the issue of no-fly-zone order which Mr. Etim gave emphasis on, I want to make it categorically clear that neither Governor Bello Mohamed nor any indigene of Zamfara state is having an aircraft to fight the flying restriction over the state airspace.
Moreover, no aircraft from any country enters Nigeria’s airspace without the prior notice to the Nigerian Airspace Management Authority and any aircraft flying within the Nigeria airspace must be seen some few kilometres to its destination. I therefore expected the authority concerned including the intelligence institutions to have taken action on such illegal aircraft, mining and other related activities as it is not within the purview of Zamfara state government to control these activities.
It is on record that when Bello Moh’d Matawalle came on board as the Executive Governor of Zamfara State, he arrested and handed over to the security agencies several illegal miners among them foreigners for prosecution. This is in addition to his peace initiative with the bandits who subscribed to the peace dialogue approved by stakeholders in Zamfara state including traditional rulers, security agencies, Miyetti Allah officials, ‘Yan Sakai, Ulamas etc.
This peace dialogue has taken Zamfara state complete nine months without single incident of attack, kidnapping, maiming and cattle rustling However, the recent return of attacks, kidnapping and cattle rustlings in the state are being promoted by your pay masters who are hell-bent on sabotaging the efforts of His Excellency in this direction.
I therefore advise you and your pay masters to consider the lives of the innocent people of our dear state being killed by the recalcitrant bandits. You should think of peace, unity and development of Zamfara state in particular and Nigeria in general.
Zamfara state is ever ready and its doors are widely open for any genuine and workable package that will bring to an end, the mayhem being unleashed on our innocent people. We should be able to proffer solution rather than raising criticisms without option. A word of wisdom is enough for a wise.
Hon. Ibrahim Magaji Dosara is the Commissioner for information in Zamfara state.
