Insecurity: UI don, Tade knocks Masari over ”arms for self-defense” comment

A lecturer at the University of Ibadan, Dr. Oludayo Tade, has advised Governor Bello Masari to address the root causes of insecurity in the country.

Tade, who lectures at the Department of Sociology, said that the Nigerian government has failed in its responsibility to protect its citizens.

He was reacting to the call by Katsina State Governor, Aminu Bello Masari that residents in the state should acquire arms and defend themselves against bandits.

But, Tade, while reacting, explained that acquiring weapons by citizens in the name of self-defense will increase bandit cells and deepen insecurity.

The criminologist noted that besides the issues of border porosity, the northwest states are leading in terms of unemployment.

Tade, maintained that the states in the Northwest should be realistic and present a common front to battle bandits which they reared irresponsibly.

Tade, who spoke on Thursday in Ibadan said, “The Northwest states are facing almost the same problem of banditry and should work together, formulate common policies and collectively use their humongous security votes to protect their residents and not only their families.

“The statistics from the region from the National Bureau of Statistics in the last quarter of 2020 showed that Katsina alone has 25.5percent unemployment rate with about 438,808 people unemployed; Jigawa has 565,978 (38.69%), Kaduna has 1,111,091 (44.35%), Kano has 717,086 (25.5%) while Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara have 213, 570 (17.25%), 162,349 (14.48%), 202, 568 (12.9%) respectively. The statistics on poverty rate from the region is a sign of danger and failure of effective leadership.

“Who will you give weapons to in a state like Zamfara with a poverty rate of 73.98percent or in Sokoto with 87.73percent poor people? The least in the region has 43.48percent of her population as poor. So, who will be the civilian that is not already vulnerable to bad governance and will be given arms and not also use it as an opportunity to extort?

“Leaders from the zone should be objective to themselves and address what they have contributed to creating the monster of banditry? How many of them are close to the bandits?.

“Governance is not about enjoying the perks of office and shifting responsibilities to the vulnerable. Rise up and address the root cause of banditry. Weapon proliferation is already a problem and we should not add to it”.