Against the backdrop of incessant cases of kidnapping for ransoms and killings of defenceless citizens by bandits in Northwest Nigeria, Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State traced the roots to poverty and illiteracy.
Banditry in the Northwest, Governor Sani said, is not the same as terrorism in the Northeast region. He said over 85 percent of northerners in the Northwest region are poor and so would rather send their children to the farms and streets than to school.
“What we have in the North-West is an economic problem where people kidnap and ask for money. What brought about that? Hopelessness, lack of education, lack of economic prosperity,” the Governor stated on Monday.
He was also quick to add that the only way out of the quagmire is good governance. “Good governance is key,” said Governor Sani. He added, “Education is the greatest enabler, so we must educate the children of the poor to compete favorably with the children of the rich. If we don’t do that, the problem of insecurity cannot be addressed.”
—Ezinwanne Onwuka reports for TruthNigeria from Abuja.
