Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has said the only way to stop banditry is for the military to bomb the forests where the bandits are hiding and kill all of them. El-Rufai, who spoke at a dialogue with the theme: “Financing Safe Schools: Creating Safe Learning Communities,” in Abuja on Tuesday, said his brother governors are in alignment with his position.

He said: “Our position as governors and we are unanimous in this because we, the northern states’ governors, met with the President on this subject, our unanimous position is to wipe out the bandits. We must go into these forests, nobody living in that forest is innocent, and just kill them all. It is the only way to end this. We need the combination of air power, and we need troops on the ground augmented by local expertise and knowledge.

“We need just one, two, three months operation to just try to kill all the bandits. It’s the only way to stop this. So long as these bandits are being paid, it’ll remain a business. So the only option that we have is to ensure that we kill them all. I’m very happy that the chief of air staff has been bombing them. So, you’ll see there’s a decline in banditry. What you see is the coordinated action with air power, use of drones.”

El-Rufai, however, demanded acquisition of advanced weapons for operational efficiency. He said: “I think the security agencies also need more advanced technology. The Air Force needs more drones. Drones are much cheaper than planes and there are drones now that can carry missiles.

“Because they (bandits) know when they hear the sound of the aircraft and hide in the bushes. But drones can be more targeted, more selective and quiet. And drones can also fly in circumstances that airplanes cannot due to bad weather.”

On the accusation that he was not negotiating with bandits who kidnapped students in his state because his child was not involved, El-Rufai said: “People ask if my child was kidnapped and I say that I won’t pay, it is a personal decision, which we do not all support. So, the only way to stop banditry is to kill them all.

“For Southern Kaduna, we didn’t understand what was going on and we decided to set up a committee under General Martin Luther Agwai (retd) to find out what was going on there. What was established was that the root of the problem has a history starting from the 2011 post-election violence.

“Fulani herdsmen from across Africa bring their cattle down towards Middle Belt and Southern Nigeria. The moment the rains start around March, April, they start moving them up to go back to their various communities and countries. Unfortunately, it was when they were moving up with their cattle across Southern Kaduna that the elections of 2011 took place and the crisis trapped some of them.

“Some of them were from Niger, Cameroon, Chad, Mali and Senegal. Fulani are in 14 African countries and they traverse this country with the cattle. So, many of these people were killed, cattle lost and they organised themselves and came back to revenge. So, a lot of what was happening in Southern Kaduna was actually from outside Nigeria.

“We got a hint that the late Governor Patrick Yakowa got this information and sent someone to go round some of these Fulani communities, but of course after he died, the whole thing stopped. That is what we inherited. But the Agwai committee established that. We took certain steps. We got a group of people going round trying to trace some of these people in Cameroon, Niger Republic and so on to tell them there is a new governor who is Fulani like them and has no problem paying compensations for lives lost and he is begging them to stop killing.

“In most of the communities, once that appeal was made to them, they said they have forgiven. There are one or two that asked for monetary compensation. They said they have forgiven the death of human beings but want compensation for cattle. We said no problem, and we paid some. As recently as two weeks ago, the team went to Niger Republic to attend one Fulani gathering that they hold every year with a message from me.”

Speaking at the forum, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, said the country was sitting on the precipice of socio-economic disaster and a full education crisis, calling for urgent multi-stakeholder solution to remedy the situation. Ahmed stated this against the backdrop of sustained attacks on vulnerable schoolchildren by terrorists.

She said it was important for government and private sector to immediately join forces to stop the attacks on fundamental rights of children to a safe learning environment. She said if the current fractured state of education is sustained, the country would have failed to guarantee a safe learning environment, secure and protect the dignity of children, their teachers, and school administrators.

She said: “Parents are increasingly more nervous about sending their children and particularly their young girls to school, with some choosing to withdraw existing students. The time to act is now. Even before the pandemic, Nigeria accounted for approximately 20% of the Global out-of-school population. With an estimated 13m children currently out of school in the country, we sit on the precipice of a socio-economic disaster and a full education crisis, if we do not act in a coordinated manner to stop the current wave of systematic attacks on the fundamental right of our children to a safe learning environment.”

Ahmed said the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic crisis have posed unprecedented challenges globally and in Nigeria. She said government has been proactive in its response to the pandemic, and has established and implemented the Economic Sustainability Plan and other interventions, including scaling up of social safety net programmes.

SOURCE (abridged): https://theeagleonline.com.ng/stopping-banditry-requires-killing-all-bandits-where-they-are-hiding-el-rufai/

DIS DISPOSABLE DISGUSTING THING IS ADVISING US








SMH

Hnnm

A thinking man....

If him be president naija go beta

El rufai go and act and stop talking

The killing should start from the Bandit's occupying the Government House.

nrexzy:
A thinking man....

If him be president naija go beta

Allah forbid this man to be the President

It's now El-Rufai eyes have cleared

DaddyRochie1642:
It's now El-Rufai eyes have cleared

elrufai has never hidden his position against bandits and banditry.
he has never been apologetic to them.
tane him what ever terrorist you want to but the people of kaduna would forever appreciate elrufai proactive nature in curbing the attack of terrorist.
thank God for el-rufai, kaduna for dey learn work for zamfara state hand.
if only the north had more governor's as elrufai, and also have United proactive people like the great people of kanawa, this banditry for don go oneside.

And how many Fulani bandits killing Kaduna south people have you been able to kill?
Just another talk to appear politically correct. Elrufai is a snake in a green grass

2special:
Allah forbid this man to be the President

Looool

thia news isn't feomna good source

nrexzy:
A thinking man....

If him be president naija go beta

You mean what he is saying made sense? Please take this mans words at your own peril

They are hiding in Govt houses and Powerful Ministries

HOVER206:

You mean what he is saying made sense? Please take this mans words at your own peril

Look at Abuja for instance....

nrexzy:


Look at Abuja for instance....

Security is different from what he did in Abuja, we are fighting unknown people, the intriguing part is terrorism is far more than a civil case

Amaechi2023:

elrufai has never hidden his position against bandits and banditry.
he has never been apologetic to them.
tane him what ever terrorist you want to but the people of kaduna would forever appreciate elrufai proactive nature in curbing the attack of terrorist.
thank God for el-rufai, kaduna for dey learn work for zamfara state hand.
if only the north had more governor's as elrufai, and also have United proactive people like the great people of kanawa, this banditry for don go oneside.

Yes he has been proactive in southern Kaduna by arresting the indigenes when they want to retaliate the killings of their kinsmen by Fulanis. His proactiveness have prevented him from visiting southern Kaduna since his second term. What a proactive governor!!

HOVER206:

Security is different from what he did in Abuja, we are fighting unknown people, the intriguing part is terrorism is far more than a civil case

Nothing is unknown...
We are fight ourselves..
The government thrive from war and the politicians make more...

Playing to the gallery!

nrexzy:


Nothing is unknown...
We are fight ourselves..
The government thrive from war and the politicians make more...

Sure government thrive from war that is why it will be difficult to end it, it can be reduced not stopped unlike the way El rufai is talking as if it is easy to stop them at once

HOVER206:

Sure government thrive from war that is why it will be difficult to end it, it can be reduced not stopped unlike the way El rufai is talking as if it is easy to stop them at once

If he have a leader with a strong will it would be stopped....

Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has said the only way to stop banditry is for the military to bomb the forests where the bandits are hiding and kill all of them.

So easy and simplistic the Nigeria Military could not bomb Sambisa forest and kill Shekau and his gang members

lastmessenger:
And how many Fulani bandits killing Kaduna south people have you been able to kill?
Just another talk to appear politically correct. Elrufai is a snake in a green grace.

You mean green grass?

VictorUSA:
You mean green grass?

yes

El Ruffai, go and bomb all the forests including sambisa.