THESHIELD Garkuwa
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(An opinion)
By Yusuf Idris Gusau
To God will continue to be the glory from the people of Zamfara for bringing this wonderful saviour, Governor Bello Mohammed Matawalle as the Chief Executive of the state at a time when such quality is most needed to save the already battered Zamfara from the terrors of bandits, kidnappers, cattle rustlers and other criminally minded persons who were unleashing mayhem in many parts of the state and defying solutions.
Matawalle has never relented in searching for complete life saving solutions in order to return the state to its most peaceful position in the country as against its being the hub for criminals who take advantage of the forests located in the state alongside vast farmlands which have prided the state as the farming simulator of the nation.
The governor and his administration have enjoyed the prayers of the good people of the state which have also seen the settlement of political rancour through the good initiative of the governor whereby the major political players and gladiators of the state have now come together as one single family with the sole aim to move the state to greatness.
While the governor was achieving this great political feat, he was moving locally and round the globe to attract investors to the state such that the much tauted unemployment rate in the state can be brought to its knees with many of the youths getting valued opportunities to work in the many investment openings or go and learn life saving skills so that they can be independent and masters to their upcoming ones.
With all these retinue of programs in place, the governor could not however generate much as his efforts were mostly sabotaged by criminal activities thereby diverting his main attention to saving people’s lives and property which he swore to do.
He set up a smooth corridor inviting some of the bandits who agreed to repent and lay down their arms for peace, a measure which saw to the beginning of the return of peace in the state, while this was on however, kinetic measures were being taken against the unrepentant criminals and the governor had to move into bringing all stakeholders and security personnel so as to fashion ways and approaches to adequately tackle the crime waves.
This led to the governor going to the president, security Chiefs especially those of the police, army, DSS, NSCDC and others so that he could generate more security presence in the state, these too were successfully attained and had helped in mitigating the crime rate but unfortunately, the criminals too were not resting but bringing in more of their type, some of whom were being imported from neighboring countries such as Niger Republic to continue giving sleepless nights against the peace loving people of the state, compelling the governor to seek partnership with the governments of the neighboring states of Sokoto, Katsina, Kebbi, Kaduna and Niger states as well Niger Republic so that they could come together in the fight against the rebels.
Matawalle provided 200 Hilux vans as operational vehicles to the security agencies in the state in 2020 as well as some for border patrol to the Nigerien government all in his effort to deplete the number of the criminals.
He then called on the people of the state who have since been supporting him with prayers and raising alarm against bandits attack to start organizing themselves in order to raise their defense levels against the criminals.
The governor went further to send bills to the state House of Assembly which were passed and assented to that provided various punishments ranging from ten (10) years imprisonment to life and to death without option of fines against bandits, kidnappers, cattle rustlers, related crimes, their sponsors and informants.
He also set up Community Protection Guards who have been legally weaponized and provided with vehicles and motorcycles throughout the 19 emirates of the state to complement the effort of the regular security in making life highly unbearable to all unrepentant criminals, a situation which has now earned the state a level peace.
Since the institution of the new measures, the Community Protection Guards were provided with 1,500 motorcycles equipped with combat-ready arsenals to complement the efforts of the conventional security services in securing communities to strengthen neighbourhood patrols across the 14 Local Government Areas.
The government also provided Laws that will guide the conduct and the operations of the Community Protection Guards in each of the 19 emirate councils with the governor announcing that many informants, who are the major impediment in the fight against banditry being apprehended and currently being interrogated before being prosecuted in accordance with the fullest extent of the law.
In addition, the governor directed an immediate house-to-house census across the 19 emirate councils with a view to fishing out informants and other people of questionable character assuring that no bandit or informant caught would be spared but they would face the full wrath of the law.
Idris is the Zamfara State APC Publicity Secretary
yusufdadu@gmail.com
