A former military governor of Kaduna State, Col. Abubakar Umar (retd.), on Wednesday carpeted President Muhammadu Buhari for channelling his strength on the arrest of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, rather than bandits and Boko Haram terrorizing the country.
Umar said it was disappointing that rather than concentrating on insecurity threatening to cripple the country, the Buhari regime was celebrating the arrest of the IPOB leader.
The former governor stated this in a statement titled, ‘Nigeria: A nation challenged.’
He said the arrest of Kanu had no impact on the lives of the Nigerians living in the North-West and North-East, who had been affected by the activities of banditry, kidnapping and insurgency.
“The re-arrest of the IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu, elicited congratulatory messages to the Federal Government which appears overwhelmed by the intractable security challenges and in dire need of any redeeming act.
“This is clearly an exaggeration of the security threat Nnamdi Kanu and indeed IPOB pose to our nation’s security and unity. It is quite strange and disturbing that the Federal Government is paying undue attention to the threats of separatist movements in contrast to the more daunting ones posed by bandits, kidnappers and insurgents in the North West, some parts of North-Central and North-East”, he said.
He also raised an alarm that activities of “those criminals have resulted in the evacuation of over 20 per cent of the villages in the North-West and North-East. Hundreds are being murdered and maimed every week. Many more are kidnapped for ransom.”
He said, “Over 1,000 schoolchildren were abducted in the past eight months with over 300 still in the hands of the bandits and kidnappers who are demanding humongous ransom. The rape of women and young girls has become a daily occurrence. Most economic activities, particularly farming, the mainstay of the people in these areas, are now all but impossible.”
Umar advised the government to find a way to resolve the issue in the South-East without violence.
He, however, noted that “IPOB and its leader may well be responsible for some of the violence, including the murder of security personnel, arson and destruction of public and private properties for which they should be held to account.”
The former governor also chided Buhari for not having the needed skills to manage the country.