The Nigerian Tribune of 17th January 2022 reported Governor Bello Matawalle announcing that “Banditry will not end soon”.

The annoying part of this pronouncement is that it was made immediately after a session with President Muhammadu Buhari when people expect to hear a message of hope at a time when the state morale is low with the escalating insecurity. On another sad note, the press briefing shows how Governor Matawalle trivializes the life of the people of Zamfara state by considering that killing "36 people" was inconsequential. He was quoted saying that “we confirmed that only 36 people have been killed and communities were razed by the bandits” in an aborted effort to make the point that the figure of victims was being exaggerated by the press and politicians. It is unfortunate that Governor Matawalle took to national and global stage the propaganda of associating all problems of insecurity to opposition politicians without realizing that he had overused and abused that cover.



On January 13, an article attributed to the famous columnist, Mal. Mahmud Jega, with the caption “In Zamfara, everyone is a bandit sponsor” was in wide circulation. In that article, Mahmud Jega asked in utter surprise how the state APC Secretary of Governor Matawalle’s camp pointed an accusing finger of “shared interest” with bandits to General Aliyu Gusau who was three times National Security Adviser on the implausible premise of having a large share of mining site which Governor Matawalle was also reported to have. The season columnist called a related attempt against Senator Marafa “a startling allegation” because Senator Marafa “was the first and most vocal voice against banditry in the northwest” in the last Senate. Governor Matawalle should have deployed another tactic if only he read Jega’s fair conclusion that reads “It is amazing how, in Zamfara State, which is the Ground Zero of Northwestern banditry, allegation of sponsoring bandits is now the weapon of choice in politics. Ordinarily that is a serious allegation which should be backed up by evidence and corroborated by security agencies”.


Like coincidence, Senator Kabiru Marafa’s faction of APC made a clarion call in a press release signed by its spokesperson titled “Using Religion as a tool for Political Blackmail is Ungodly, Unethical, Malicious, Cowardly and a Recipe for Perpetuation of the Anarchy in Zamfara State” around the same day with Mahmud Jega’s piece. The Punch newspaper of 13th January 2022 quoted the press release in which Senator Marafa’s faction lamented after chronicling many instances of those ‘baseless’ accusations “We see in these false associations the potential to perpetuate the state of anarchy in the state through blackmail by creating trust question and sparking suspicion between the masses and the political class”. Although from a political faction, the press release was spot on with arguments and passionate appeal for the state government, religious leaders and politicians to join hands and deal with the security as well as help the displaced individuals.


Looking at the trajectory of the problem of insecurity in Zamfara State since Matawalle assumed power in 2019, one can argue convincingly that his careless accusation of opposition politicians is a projection of his tendencies of using the bandits and banditry for political gains. He was quoted in the briefing in view to have said that his infamous peace accord with the bandits yielded result for nine months until opposition politicians convinced the bandits to back out. The truth is that Governor Matawalle’s negotiation with the bandits worked well until when he abandoned it by not paying the huge amount of money, vehicles and food supplies he promised the bandits coupled with his new priority of decamping to the APC which consumed a lot of money from the states meager resources. It is on record that the bandits returned to their nefarious activities in Zamfara State from February 2021 through the rest of the year when they realized Mr Matawalles insincerity which coincided with hurdles of party decamping with all its challenges till today. They used the same money received from the government to buy more arms and kill more people!


Governor Bello Matawalle also lamented that opposition politicians facilitated taking him to court to challenge the suspension of telecommunication which was helping the insecurity. Every observer of events in Zamfara state will tell that the claim that the suspension of telecommunication services was far from being factual as bandits took advantage of it to attack communities who did not have the means of reaching out to the state security system or neighboring vigilantes for help. It is also in record that Governor Matawalle abandoned the state in those difficult times to travel on trivialities such as accompanying his wife for child delivery in the United States and a long trip to places only he knew best in the pretext of attracting investment for a state on fire and out of communication services! He was away in that difficult time when bandits killed the biological father to the Speaker of the State Assembly who was also the acting Governor. It is also instructive to note that one of those trips towards the end of 2021 was for watching traditional wrestling in neighboring Niger Republic at a time when bandits were having a field day in Zurmi and Shinkafi Local Governments areas of the state.


Beyond his complicity through negligence and misjudgment, recent revelations show that Governor Matawalle is indeed aiding the bandits. A suspect by name Musa Muhammad Kamarawa who confirmed to be a friend and supplier of arms to the notorious bandit, Bello Turji, was arrested by the police last week.

One of the shocking revelations was that the suspect was confirmed to be a political appointee of Governor Matawalle having appointed him as a Special Assistant through a letter signed by the former Secretary to the State Government dated 26th September, 2022. The same Musa Kamarawa was also shown in a picture very close to Governor Matawalle in an official field activity with the military. These and many reasons indicate that Bello Matawalle is one person who lives in glass house but keeps throwing stones.


Back to the beginning of this piece, it is embarrassing, though not surprising, that Governor Matawalle was pessimistic that insecurity would not end soon in the state. In his words “because this is something I inherited that has been going on for eight years and you don’t expect it to end within two years of my administration”.


My response is that insecurity would not end within two years because it suffers from the negligence, incompetence and abuse as the major tool for challenging opposition political groups in the absence of any capital or socially driven legacy to show by Governor Bello Matawalle’s administration coupled with the sinister desire of Gov Matawalle to use the insecurity to win election in 2023.


As an optimist and one who knows that anarchy like that of Zamfara can hardly end without a willing government, I will conclude by asserting that insecurity will end in Zamfara immediately Governor Matawalle is shown the way out of Zamfara State Government House just like he (Matawalle) abandoned the party that gave him legitimacy to occupy the exalted position he is abusing today and a willing Governor assumes office in the state. The positive progress being recorded in Borno State through Governor Zulum is a good motivation to this aspiration.

Ibrahim Madugu Writes from Gusau Zamfara State.

You'all should keep deceiving yourselves while your region burns to the ground!

Nonsense mofos!

Banditry and terrorism has been ending since 2015 under Buhari's regime, I think the problem here is APC does not know the difference between words and opposite...

Buhari will handle insecurity
Osinbajo will handle economy
Tinubu is the best Man for 2023

Ok

When we are ready to end banditry, we will. You've got powerful people making so much money from banditry as well as the acts carried out by Boko Haram. So it won't end now.

Na IPOB be una problem, it won't end till Nigeria divides.

UK left EU but Igbos can't leave Nigeria to form their own country and yet we're always abused, victimized and called all sort of names. We're clearly watching, una house go burn.

Godless people

I quite agree with this opinion. I believe that Buhari has done the background work (if you know). It is just a question of time for this senselessness to peter out.

freshkpomo:

Seems these guys have not seen videos of Fulani killing people and saying they own Nigeria as they celebrate. I pity Muslims who think it's a Jihad and it will favour them.. it's more of an ethnic take over.

headslammers are naturally daft

The op is deluded thinking Mattawale's exit from office will resolve issue of banditry in Zamfara and the north in general.

Will the gold in Zamfara get exhausted before Mattawale leaves office? Will the people stop giving birth to children they can't educate properly and cater for when he leaves office? Will the Imams and Alfas that preach and inculcate the spirit of violence and terrorism in northern children disappear when he leaves office?

The north and Zamfara in particular wants to control and loot its resources alone, gold, without sharing with the rest of the nation like they're are sharing the crude oil in Bayelsa, Delta, Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Cross Rivers...

The banditry we see in Zamfara is being sponsored by the governor, members of his cabinet, opposition politicians, senators, house of reps members and house of assembly members. They're collaborating with the Chinese miners to loot and move out the gold to their vaults and they're doing so under the cover of banditry and terrorism.

The French opportunists are also actively supplying these bandits weapons to make sure they don't run dry.

Nigeria is on a long thing.

The safest thing to do right now is to divide this country and build a very big fence separating the terrorist region from southern Nigeria.

Once that is achieved, Igbos and Yorubas will separate and have a different governments while the core south south will have its own government, all under a confederation... Without this, Nigeria will bleed for several generations to come

Hmmm

Hmmm

Banditry is a money spinning business in the north and so therefore won't stop

All these paid agents that came online to downplay the level of insecurity in Nigeria and paint the regime of General Buhari a good picture don't think their propaganda is still working

Diswan that banditary will outlive his administration.

" He was quoted in the briefing in view to have said that his infamous peace accord with the bandits yielded result for nine months until opposition politicians convinced the bandits to back out."

Which of the opposition politicians this time.....I'm guessing the referenced opposition transformed from APC to PDP since he also transitioned.

Meanwhile Op why is your heading and the body of your post behaving like farmers and herdsmen.

We all the monsters you've made....

The politicians will sponsor it.
The Sheiks and Imams will preach it.
The Illiterate Fanatic will execute it.
The educated will excuse it.
And the cycle goes on.
The Taqqiyya system......

Let's keep playing dumb while people are getting murdered every day

Terrorism will end soon or banditry are they not Terrorists, that was how you people deceived yourselves that Buhari will fighting from the war front and Osunbade will take care of economy. today we have seen Buhari hiding under Aisha pant while Osunbade is handling the economy very well by shearing 10k to market women all over Nigeria, what a legal economist.

Faller:
Same way we were told Boko Haram will end soon, It's going to 13 Years now. With the lackadaisical Attitude of the current Government toward Insurgency and Insecurity, I believe Banditry is still in its early stage, Maybe they have 12 more years to operate, time will tell.

I predict 32 years

Is it banditary in Ekiti or Kwara?

banditry will continue for 600 years ...