Yuguda blames migrant herdsmen, local collaborators for nation’s insecurity

Former Governor of Bauchi State, Isa Yuguda, has observed that the insecurity in the country is possibly being perpetrated by migrants who have local collaborators.

Speaking to State House correspondents after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday, he said: “Criminals from other parts of Africa may have assembled and said let’s go into a richer country like Nigeria and ravaged them, seize everything that they have.

“It could be possible and when they come they have some local converts, who will want to go their own way. And also the southern part is not insulated because we have a series of kidnappings.”

However, he noted that the present state of insecurity did not start from the current administration, as he recalled that Boko Haram has its genesis in Bauchi State and the state was able to tackle it.

The one-time Aviation minister stated: “Everybody knows that insecurity in the country did not start with the government of President Muhammadu Buhari. We were in government when this insecurity started.

“Most of you are aware Boko Haram started in Bauchi and by the grace of Allah, Bauchi was able to address it.

“Of course, it has continued and Mr. President has been able to substantially defeat the insurgency in the northeast.

“Nigeria is such a huge country and with the population growing from 60 million in the 60s to over 200 million today, so most of these challenges you are seeing today is more about competition for land, especially as regards the so-called herdsmen.

“We know there are quite a number of them that are criminals but criminalising the entire herdsmen, I think is unfair because they have been peaceful people.

“Of course, there has been competition for land. If 60 million were occupying the land in the 60s and today you have over 200 million, all those cattle routes that were established by the British colonialists have all been closed down because of human habitations, and of course, even the grazing reserves have been taken over by farmlands as the population is growing.

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“So, some of these criminals would have taken advantage of what has been happening and unleashing mayhem on our people but that is not acceptable. I believe Mr. President is also addressing that to the best of his ability.

“In the northwest, we have witnessed a lot of challenges when it comes to banditry and you may not know where the bandits are coming from.

“It cannot only be a local problem, but it could also be an international problem, probably migration from somewhere.”

The former governor also noted that insecurity was not limited to herdsmen as he pointed out that kidnapping started from the Niger Delta.

He added: “In fact, kidnappings started with oil workers either in the early 90s or late 80s. So, it’s not a new thing.

“Life is dynamic. If there is no problem, then there cannot be a manager. So, we can’t have a country without a leadership because he (president) is thereby the grace of the almighty God, because God will not come down and manage the people by himself.

“So, as long as the population is willing and he too has the vision to address the problem, I think we are going to win.

“So, really the insecurity in the north east and the north-west is being addressed and everybody is happy.

“But we see these things keep repeating themselves. We don’t expect them to stop overnight. It’s not possible.

“So, we are praying for the president to surmount all these problems as quickly as possible and we believe that the team he has, the police, army, Air Force, the navy they are doing their best.

“They should add more prayers and rededicate themselves more and more so that within the shortest possible time…if they have a target of 10 days to defeat the criminals, they should reduce it to five days or even four days.”