In a candid discussion on Channels Television's Sunrise Daily, Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani highlighted poverty, unemployment, hopelessness, and lack of education as the predominant factors fueling insecurity in the North-Western region of Nigeria.
Governor Sani distinguished the nature of the crisis in the North-West from the insurgency in the North-East, characterizing it as an economic problem primarily driven by banditry and kidnapping. He emphasized the alarming trend of innocent people being kidnapped for ransom, often resulting in tragic outcomes when payments are delayed.
"When you look at the situation, you also look at the problem of poverty, unemployment, hopelessness, and lack of education, particularly in the Northwestern part of Nigeria. That is the reason why a lot of these incidents happen," stated Governor Sani.
The governor underscored the dire socio-economic conditions in the North-West, pointing to statistics that reveal a significant percentage of the population living below the poverty line. He also highlighted the prevalence of out-of-school children, with a substantial number hailing from the North-Western zone.
"About 80 to 90% of the people living in the Northwestern part of Nigeria are living below the poverty line, and if you look at the statistics of out-of-school children, you can see that a lot of them are from the Northwestern part of Nigeria," he elaborated.
Governor Sani emphasized the importance of addressing the root causes of insecurity, stating that merely bringing criminals to justice is not sufficient. While acknowledging the non-kinetic approach of granting pardons to those who surrender, he emphasized that the crux of the matter lies in tackling the overarching issues of poverty, unemployment, and hopelessness afflicting the populace.
