Osinbajo, Zamfara also needs FG’s attention
Dear Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, please visit Zamfara state the way you visited Benue state. Make N10b pledge to the victims of gunmen attacks just the way you made similar pledge to Benue people or at least half of that amount even though, the attacks in Zamfara triple those in Benue.
The insecurity in Benue has been politicized by some unscrupulous politicians and some bigots, that is why people with myopic minds think a particular religion is targeted with the support of government which is totally wrong.
Just recently villages of Wonaka, Hura-Girke, ‘Yargeba and several others have been sacked by gunmen in Zamfara state; thousands of villagers fled their homes in this wholly month of Ramadan. They are now camping at a government primary school in Mada town of Gusau local government area. Students cannot go to the school because IDPs have taken over the classrooms. This is just one out of many attacks in most parts of the state.
The gunmen consistently unleash mayhem on various communities in Zamfara state but, unfortunately, the state does not enjoy media hype and politicians’ attention like Benue state.
Nevertheless, the wise and well informed people of the state do not attribute their harsh conditions to religious differences; they do not blame the President yet.
The insecurity in Zamfara vexes me further when I see the list of those who currently pilot the security affairs in the country. The minister of defense, Mansur Dan Ali is not only the indigene of Zamfara state, he is also the son of respected Birnin Magaji emirate in the state. Yet, he does little or no efforts in curtailing the bandits’ attacks across the state. The Director General of State Security Service, Lawal Daura is from neighboring state of Katsina, minister of interior, Abdulrahman Dambazau is from Kano, Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Air Staff are all from the North, but little attention is paid to Zamfara.
Another worrying issue is the state government’s lackadaisical attitudes in addressing the insecurity in the state. Delivering his speech at this year’s Democracy Day celebration, Governor Abdul’aziz Yari promised to partner with the Federal Government to address the insecurity in the state. One will ask why now after these miserable years?
Now to the Lagos based newspapers and television stations, I will not blame you for your bias in reporting conflicts in the northern region. I blame the northern governments, some elites and affluents for being myopic and rather wicked in failing to invest heavily in the media to protect the Northern interests nationally and internationally.
The southern media organizations have succeeded in telling the world that followers of a particular religion are being killed in northern Nigeria. This was a visible evidence when President Trump hosted President Buhari late April. The former asserted that followers of a religion are being killed in the North. Unfortunately, President Buhari failed to dispute Trump’s assertion instantly. Consequently, the world now believed that what the US President said is true. That is the impact of Lagos based media outfits.
I must commend Daily Trust and Leadership newspapers for their professionalism in reporting conflicts in the region. But, to me, sometimes they don’t do enough. On their front pages last May 30th publications, we have seen pictures of ‘massive crowds’ at Democracy Day celebration, though, some of these publications are paid for. But these newspapers seldomly fail to report some of the gunmen attacks in Zamfara.
Aside pictures of political gatherings, let the world also see the plights of Internally Displaced Persons in Zamfara on the front pages of these newspapers. At least, the world would know that the killings in Nigeria have no link with any religion. Thousands of IDPs now occupying a primary school in Mada town; pupils cannot go to school and innocent people fled their homes concurrently. Double tragedy! Nura Mada, Kaduna.