Senator Ahmed Sani Yerima, the former Governor of Zamfara State, has advised the Federal Government to dialogue and empower bandits in order to end the insecurity crisis bedevilling the country.
He emphasized that engaging in dialogue with these bandits is the panacea for solving the insecurity crisis in the Northern part of the country.
The former governor stated this during an interview with BBC Hausa on Saturday.
He urged the federal government to treat bandits the same way repentant militants in the Niger Delta were treated.
He said, “I’m advising the government to, first of all, find time to sit with these bandits, just like they sat with Niger Delta militants in the past. Because a majority of them are Nigerians, even though there are some foreigners among them. But Nigerians among them can be convinced, as the Niger Delta militants were convinced and empowered to stop. If that fails, then the government can use force on them wherever they are.”
He further highlighted that the reason previous dialogues with the bandits failed was because of insincerity.
According to him, he personally monitored previous dialogues and noticed that the majority of promises made to the bandits were not kept.
He blamed ignorance and poverty for people succumbing to banditry, emphasizing that only uneducated people would take up arms and slaughter innocent people.
He proposed that the issue can be addressed if the bandits are approached and the government sincerely empowers them, just as was done with the Niger Delta militants.
He advocated that the problem be addressed if criminals are approached and the government genuinely empowers them, as it did with Niger Delta militants.
He also chastised political officials who, rather than addressing people’s issues, seek to plunder billions from public coffers for their own gain.
The senator further commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s initial steps, stating that reopening the borders would undoubtedly alleviate the hardships currently faced by Nigerians.
The senator also applauded President Bola Tinubu’s decisions since he came into power. He noted that reopening the borders would surely relieve the hardships that Nigerians are currently experiencing.
