Alhaji Kabiru Aliyu is a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Sokoto State and former Special Adviser to former Governor Aminu Tambuwal on SDGs. In this interview by OLAKUNLE MARUF, he speaks on the worsening insecurity in the state.
About 150 persons were reportedly abducted recently in Gobir Emirate. What do you make of that?
The activities of bandits in Sokoto State are very unfortunate. More than 500 people are in captivity at the moment. The figure 150 is just for Sabon Birni, there are other people who were abducted in other local government areas such as Kware, Rabbah, Wurno and Goronyo. We are not talking of those people who have been in captivity for months, but those who were abducted in the last one month or so. The menace of the bandits in Sokoto State has reached an alarming rate. The state government should declare a state of emergency on security.
The district head of the Gobir Emirate was killed recently by kidnappers. How did you receive the news?
The royal father was in captivity for almost a month during which period there were series of conversations between his family and the kidnappers. The was a video clip which the bandits released to the public in which the traditional ruler was seeking the assistance of the state government, his family and associates. They (the kidnappers) gave a deadline on Wednesday. The district head was killed on Thursday. It was as if the security agencies were not aware or they did not care.
What is your opinion on the reported cases of arrest following a protest by residents of Sabon Birni community over the security situation in the state?
To me, there was no reason to arrest any persons who were protesting peacefully against the activities of bandits in the area. The security agents arresting the unarmed youths ought to go into the bush and retrieve the corpse of the district head. So, I am surprised that anybody would think of arresting anyone for protesting against bandits in the state.
The state government has promised to improve the security architecture of the state.
The statement is like a slogan for the current administration. His statement during the last campaign where he vowed to use the whole allocation of the state, including the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), if that is what is required to ensure security in the state, is still being circulated. The question now is, how much out of the state’s allocation is he giving to security in the state. He should tell us how much or what percentage.
When former Governor Aminu Tambuwal declared emergency on education, he gave 37 per cent of the state’s budget to the sector. We could all see the results. More schools and classrooms were constructed and more teachers were employed. There was training and re-training of teachers. There is nothing that shows that security is a priority to this government.
Some months ago, the government launched the Sokoto State Security Corps. How would assess the impact of the corps on the security of the state?
Nothing has changed since the launch of that security corps. They have not arrested any bandits, to my knowledge. I have not even heard of their engagement with bandits. Only the children of the privileged were recruited into the corps so that they could be getting some allowances from the state government. It shows that the state government is not serious with the promise of fighting banditry in the state; it is just on paper, nothing more.
What is your advice for the security agencies in the state regarding the menace of banditry?
The security agencies in the state are not doing much; they are not performing to expectation in terms of tackling the issue of insecurity. I said this with all due respect to our security agencies. If you report a bandits attack to the police, they may not do anything until after the bandits have finished their operation and retreated into the bushes. Then you will see their vehicles around the location where the attack took place.
They cannot afford to continue like that. I have always said that for security agencies to succeed in eliminating banditry, they have to take the fight to them in their enclaves. They cannot stay in their offices and say they are coordinating security in an area. The police, the Nigerian Army and other security agencies will have to take the fight to them and dislodge them. I know it is possible. I am using this opportunity to appeal to the security agencies in the state to justify the country’s and the state’s investments, little as they may be, in them.
What is your opinion on the police arrest and arraignment of a social critic, Shafiu Umar Tureta, for posting some contents critical of the state governor on social media?
The arrest of Tureta, who is a social critic and a member of the opposition party, was simply because he reposted a video clip that was originally posted by supporters of the governor’s wife. The video shows people throwing money, naira and dollar, on the governor’s wife who was celebrating her birthday. The birthday party, I learnt, took place in Abuja. The boy had no way of getting into the venue because it was strictly on invitation. It was the governor’s wife’s supporters who made the video. I saw the video myself and I did repost it, so if the police are arresting all those who reposted the video, they will have to arrest thousands of people. I should have been arrested, too, because I saw the video and I reposted it. I don’t know anywhere in the law where it is stated that if the wife of the governor is celebrating birthday and someone posts a video clip of the celebration, people should not repost the video.
I think what the police ought to have done was to arrest those who were spraying money on the governor’s wife. That was a clear offence of abuse of our local currency and a foreign currency. In fact, I believe Interpol should arrest those people that were spraying the money. It is an international crime to abuse international and local currencies. The police should put their energy in arresting only those who have disobeyed our laws.
How would you rate the performance of the state government in the last one year?
I will say it is an interruption of the success and progress recorded by the previous administration under Aminu Waziri Tambuwal. For the last year, nothing has improved. In fact everything has worsened. Security has worsened. Education has been taken to where it was before the coming of Aminu Waziri Tambuwal. The health sector is not faring any better. There is hardly a primary health centre with a doctor across the local governments; you will only see auxiliary nurses attending to patients. This has discouraged a lot of people from going to government hospitals, especially primary health centres. People now patronise UDUTH and private hospitals.
The standard of civil service has also gone down to the extent that people now go to work and close whenever they feel like. There are also those who only collect salaries without going to work. It is unfortunate that the state government has destroyed the civil service. It is unfortunate.
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