By Asmau Ahmad with agency report
A former Governor of Sokoto State, Alhaji Attahiru Bafarawa on Sunday raised concern over the alarming rate of banditry in the North West and North East, noting that it has constituted a serious threat to food security in Nigeria.
According to him, instead of focusing attention on cabinet ministerial appointments, subsidy and the economy, the government of President Bola Tinubu should consider food security as his priority.
The elder statesman also warned that if stringent measures were not taken to curb insecurity, the North would face severe educational backwardness in the next 50 years.
Bafarawa who stated these in an interview with The PUNCH said that many primary and secondary schools in Northern Nigeria have been shut due to bandits’ activities, which he described as “this is a serious disaster.”
He advised the FG to get its priorities correctly, adding, “Instead of talking about cabinet, subsidy and the economy, the government should consider food security because with the rate we are going, in the next three months, we are definitely going to have problems in Nigeria, especially in the North West.
“The bandits have refused to allow farmers to cultivate their crops. This is a very dangerous situation not only because the bandits are killing people but also because the food scarcity is going to be too serious in the next few months, especially in the North West and North East. So, we want the government to wake up and do something about it.
“Also, with the way education is going, in the next 50 years, we are going to be very backward in education because most of the primary schools in the North have been closed because of banditry. There are no primary schools, no secondary schools and this is a serious disaster. So, we cannot sit down and watch; something must be done right before it gets worse.
“The government should fight insecurity, especially food insecurity in the country because it’s a serious matter. Whatever the government is going to do, the issue of food security must be a top priority.”
