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Edward Auta is a Public Affairs Analyst. In this interview, he speaks on the efforts of Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State in addressing insecurity, and how the Kaduna peace model initiated by the governor has been effective. He blames the administration of former Governor Nasir El-rufai for making Kaduna State to bleed after paying ransom to bandits, among others. JOY ANIGBOGU brings the excerpts:
Under the last administration of Nasir El-Rufai, there were deaths every other day or attacks every other day, which is one of the black spots of his administration, as a lot of people would look at, given the number of attacks and killings that happened during his time. But under Senator Uba Sani that has scaled down drastically where we usually don’t hear of many attacks. The argument is to the effect that Nasir El-Rufai said he doesn’t believe in paying or negotiating or even having conversations with bandits. He’s alluding to the fact that the present government does some form of negotiation, even making payments to be able to have peace. What do you make of this conflicting position vis-a-vis the peace being experienced?
What I would say is that the realities in Kaduna State under the previous administration are exactly as you highlighted, our villages became rivers of blood. Under the previous administration, our highways became kidnappers. Then people couldn’t travel from Kaduna to Abuja despite its proximity to the nation’s capital. But today, under the present administration, a lot of progress is being made and it’s laughable looking at Nasri El-rufai’s allegations or accusations because everyone knows right on this television station. I think he had that interview with some of you where he publicly confessed to paying bandits to stop attacking the people of southern Kaduna. So if at all there’s any administration that has publicly owned up to paying bandits in the history of Kaduna State, it’s the administration of Nasir El-rufai himself. Under the present administration, yes we’re experiencing some relative peace even though we can see that there’ve been pockets of attacks here and there from time to time. But even the greatest critic of this administration must accept that our highways are now safer, our communities are also safer, and farmers have returned to their farms in the last two years. We’ve seen increased productivity, we’ve seen food security enhanced and all that under the present administration. The Kaduna peace model, as the present administration would call it, is one that has been anchored on collaboration. Collaboration with community and religious leaders, collaboration with federal security forces. It has also been anchored on improved intelligence gathering and most importantly addressing the root causes of criminality and banditry and terrorism which has to do with access to education, access to healthcare, access to social infrastructure and also addressing the inequality that has predated this administration in terms of inclusion in governance and the development trajectory of the state. We have to give it to the Uba Sani’s administration. Today so many communities that had issues with access to education, that issue is being addressed. Over 1,700 schools have either been rebuilt or renovated.
It’s important to also paint a picture of some of the other events we’ve seen so we can have a holistic conversation. Late October, there was an attack on the United Church of Christ in Nigeria (UCCN), also known as HEKAN, where armed bandits on the foreign duty community in IKara local government area of the state attacked. We understand that one of his priests was killed and over 20 of the church members were abducted in that attack. We’ve also seen priests who died in captivity just about a week ago. So what would you say is the cause of these attacks in spite of what you’ve said the government has done?
This is not necessarily the absence of war or the absence of security breaches. What we’re seeing is that if you look at the number of incidents of security breaches that we witnessed under the previous administration, and then what they did in this administration. In the past, almost on a daily basis, villages have been attacked, people have been abducted, and farmers are unable to go to farm and all that. But that’s not the case today. All these small incidents happening here and there. Even if you hate this government, you have to admit that a lot is being done. Look at the Kaduna peace model. It takes a little bit of time for us to fully enjoy the benefits. Most of these bandits succeed because they’re able to get willing people, young people, between the ages of 14 and 19, who are carrying these arms for them, who are doing this kidnapping for them, who are unleashing all this mayhem for them. And if you also look at the menace of informants, most of the people that are giving these bandits information and working with them are young people, jobless people, illiterate, uneducated people who live among us. They’re the willing people that these bandits and criminals are using. Governor Uba Sani has focused on addressing some of these issues. I also talked about the issue of inequality and the issue of inequity in what we call lack of inclusion in governance, which the administration of Governor Sani is also addressing at the moment. It’ll interest you to know that in Kaduna State, in the last 10 to 12 years, there are so many local governments that haven’t seen a single state or federal government project. In terms of response time when these bandits are attacking communities, most of the communities are inaccessible. Today, under Governor Sani, Kaduna State has become a construction site. Rural communities have seen roads being constructed in Jaffa, in Kagarko, in parts of Zambo, and most parts of Southern Kaduna where these security features have been in the last 12 years. They were neglected almost completely but under Uba Sani, that’s not the case. Everybody knows the role that the government plays in the establishment of the Federal University of Applied Sciences in Kachia, the establishment of the Federal Medical Centre in Kachia.
Are you saying that the successes are as a result of the Kaduna security model, but the failures of the attacks are because the federal government doesn’t have a presence in this community?
No. That’s not what I’m saying. What I’m saying is that over the years, before the coming of the present administration at the state and federal level, most of the communities where these things are happening were neglected. We didn’t have either state or federal government presence in most of these communities. And I also alluded to the fact that most of these communities were largely inaccessible, such that even if bandits are operating in an area and security forces have been intimated, we find it difficult to access these places. But under the present administration of Governor Uba Sani, we’ve seen improved collaboration between the state and the federal government. This government procured over 150 Hilux vehicles and 500 motorcycles and donated to the federal security agencies. We’ve seen the government of Uba Sani constructing rural roads so that communities can become more accessible and response time by the security agencies can be shortened. We’ve seen the government collaborate with the federal government to build educational and tertiary health institutions in most of these zones where people are being attacked. As I said, lack of education or access to education, whether primary, secondary, or tertiary and basic social amenities have contributed immensely over the years to the increase in the incidences of insecurity in Kaduna State. So under the government of Senator Uba Sani, we’re seeing these things being addressed. We’re seeing collaboration with community leaders. We’ve seen collaboration with the president.
But it seems as if that peace model, very delicate balance, because
We’ve seen a surge of attacks in Kuyelo Ward to be precise, where bandits attacked and killed about seven persons. Amnesty International is reporting an increase in the number of deaths recorded in that particular attack. We’ve also seen two farmers killed in Birnin Gwari as well. So it seems as if the peace that was enjoyed in the last couple of months is not particularly guaranteed, what is the nature of this peace deal that you say is founded on collaboration with communities? Does it also include some form of agreement with the bandits? And if it does, doesn’t it place a question mark on this unique, non-kinetic approach that the administration under Uba Sani has deployed to ensure peace in these areas?
Not at all. There’s nothing wrong with that approach, because like I mentioned earlier, we have a lot of success today. It’ll interest you to know that some of us were in the trenches. We were critics of this government. We were in the media. We were in the public space attacking this government. But today, we’ve seen that although we’re not where we ought to be, a lot of progress is being made. And we felt that there’s the need for us to balance our activism with our commitment to national security. And I’ll tell you, one other challenge that’s facing the Uba Sani peace model in Kaduna State is not the peace model itself, but the failure of neighboring states to adopt a similar approach. If your house is under fire and your neighbor’s house is also under fire, if you’re doing everything possible to put out the fire in your house and your neighbor is doing nothing to put out the fire or is not doing as much as you’re doing to put out the fire in his own house, you’ll continue to have problems. We’ve also had cases of infiltration of bandits from neighboring states outside Kaduna into Kaduna to cause mayhem and then go back to those other areas because they’re more or less like a safe haven for them.
You’re attributing a resurgence of criminality in Birini Gwari or maybe in other parts to the failure of neighboring states to tackle insecurity in their own areas. Is that what you’re saying?
Yes, it’s part of it.
Please clarify that this Kaduna peace model under Uba Sani doesn’t involve any agreement or deal with bandits.
It doesn’t. The governor has to make it abundantly clear that the Kaduna government doesn’t negotiate with bandits. What the government is doing rather is what I mentioned earlier, addressing the root causes of insecurity by ensuring that access to education at community level is enhanced, by ensuring that access to health care, access to social amenities, access to infrastructure and equality in governance. These initiatives may not yield the desired result in the immediate, even though progress is being made. However, it takes time.
If it doesn’t involve negotiation or agreement with bandits, why are we seeing a resurgence of attacks in Birnin Gwari?
Like the governor said, community leaders in Birnin Gwari, religious leaders in Birnin Gwari have come together to discuss peace and harmony because whatever community initiative can be done in any part of Kaduna State, the government of Kaduna State is open to supporting it, provided it’s going to enhance the peace and harmonious community living in that area. So, like I told you, two years ago, you dare not travel to Birini Gwari, you dare not open a market in Birnin Gwari. Today, the reality is that businesses are thriving in that area, people are able to go to farm.
