Borno State governor, Babagana Zulum, has said that there are direct connections between poverty, criminality and Boko Haram insurgency, saying “self-inflicted poverty is a direct cause of Boko Haram crisis in the North-East region.”
Zulum said this on Friday when he met members of the Barewa Old Boys’ Association (BOBA) at council chamber in government house, Maiduguri, the state capital.
He identified good leadership as a solution to poverty and insecurity in Nigeria.
According to him, leaders should do needful by creating more job opportunities for youths to earn their means of livelihood.
“For we the leaders, there is the need to do the needful, create the enabling environment for people to find their means of livelihood. The nexus between peace, security and development should not be over-emphasized, if there is no peace, no development.
“The constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has clearly spelt out that security is under the control of the Federal Government but that does not mean that the state governments are not important, but they also played a critical role in the situation within the state.
“Once there is no good leadership, nothing can be achieved. As leaders, we need to ensure discipline and accountability and above all monitoring and evaluation.”