Insecurity: Sultan spoke our minds, say northern elders

Northern elders have expressed support for Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar, for summoning the courage to speak out on the worsening security situation in the North.

They noted that the monarch’s comments had vindicated their position that insecurity in the North was getting worse.

The Sultan, during the Nigerian Inter-Religious Council (NIREC), had narrated how bandits “go around in the villages, households, and markets with their AK 47 rifles, they stop at the market, buy things, pay and collect change, with their weapons openly displayed.”

The elders, in a statement by the National Coordinator of Coalition of Northern Elders for Peace and Development (CONEPD), Zana Goni, and National Women Leader, Hajia Mario Bichi, pointed out the utterances of the monarch did not only reflect the true situation of things but had vindicated them.

The elders appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to heed the advice of most Nigerians to rejig the security architecture and appointing young minds who will salvage the situation.

They further charged other leaders to speak up against insecurity and other precarious situation bedeviling the country.

The statement read, “We most respectfully commend the Sultan of Sokoto, our father, for stating the true position of things in the North, as it concerns insecurity.

“We had said it over and over again, that the state of insecurity had reached a point where our farmers can hardly access their farms, even as travellers on busy highways can no longer guarantee their safe arrival without being kidnapped.

“Our mothers, fathers, and children are now at the mercy of terrorists and bandits, who kill, harass and destroy property without being confronted, in many instances, by our security operatives.

“As patriotic elders, we think the position of the Sultan is a Clarion call to our dear President, His Excellency Muhammadu Buhari, to restructure the security architecture in the country without further delay.

“We applaud our President for ensuring huge budgetary allocation to the military and security sectors, thereby demonstrating his interest in securing lives and property.

“We, however, regret that our Security Chiefs have not shown commensurate commitment in tackling these security challenges, owing to what we see as lethargy and spent ideas.

“Accordingly, we call on President Muhammadu Buhari to sack the Service Chiefs without further delay, and appoint younger senior officers that will bring fresh perspectives and ideas to bear in addressing the deteriorating security situation in the North in particular, and the country in general.”