Insecurity In Zamfara: The Government And The People Have Failed -By Halim Ishaq

In early 2017, I started knowing about the bad security situations thanks to one of my friends from that state. My friend would use anything possible to show his dismay to the situation in his state, but his voice was like the squeak of a lone chinchillas that is about to be mauled by the lions; his voice was not heard, but alas, he did not stop trying to let the world know about what is happening in his state.

His actions sparked my curiosity, therefore I need him to know what is really wrong in Zamfara, and what precipitates his continued wailing and he gave me the bombshell about how his people are being killed and kidnapped on daily basis. What marveled me about his anecdote is the audacity of the Perpetrators to kidnap and kill at will and not being rebuked by the security agencies, in spite that it’s been provided in our constitution that no territory of Nigeria shall be taken over by any individual (s), why has the country fold it arms to watching how the provision of her constitution is being rubbished by few number of people without taking action(s).

It has been said that 225 people have been kidnapped from December till this time, and many people have been killed, but the government and the people of the country continue to turn deaf ear to this situation. The onus is on the government to protect the lives of the government by any possible means, however, the government has reneged on its responsibility in this regard.

When it is time for election, the government will ensure that security is beefed for the people to come out and vote with mind devoid of the thought of being attacked, but after election the securities are withdrawn and I begin to ask my self, the people and the election which one should be the paramount agenda of the government? Which one should be given more attention, and which one should be glorified than the other? The action of the government has subliminally skewed the favor to the latter.

The fault of the people is that we are too enmeshed in political affinity, and it has consequently becloud our sense of discerning what is right and wrong. Because of our political affinity to the people at the helm, we have allowed our conscience to be enthralled. Instead of us to hold them by the neck when they fail to carry out their responsibilities, we either give an alibi that they are being undermined by their traducers when it is clear that they are aloof to our plights and travails, and our situation continues to exacerbate.

The people ought to use any medium to tell the world what is happening in Zamfara and other states, but ethnic and political affinity have prevented us from taking the necessary action, because we don’t want show the world that our people at the helm cannot apprehend the complexity of making our clime devoid of crime, we cloak the truth in order not to saggy the image of our people at the helm, hence we continue to get our Jaws twitching in bad situations. when other countries are attacked we won’t hesitate to show our support to them, but our house is engulfed by fire instead of us to extinguish it ; we left it to raze.

In the words of Shehu Sani “There is no country in the whole of the African continent where people are being kidnapped or Killed daily at these frequency & numbers. In this area, the government has failed woefully. The government must protect & guarantee human lives as it does political ambitions & empires”

The government should ensure that the insecurity in Zamfara is nipped in the mud by making sure jeremiad spirit lurking that clime is unclad, and punished severe, rather than the usual rhetoric they give, and the people should ensure that we make our voice heard, we make our dismay known and hold our government by the neck to protect our lives and properties.