A public commentator in Zamfara State, Alhaji Ahmed Bakare, has lamented that the state government’s continued distribution of food items and other essential commodities as welfare packages to less privileged indigenes would not end banditry activities in the state.
In an exclusive interview in Gusau, the state capital, Bakare said the government should rather focus on designing a formidable strategy toward ending insecurity.
“If farming activities and other legitimate endeavours are working perfectly, residents would concentrate on their activities to feed themselves and their families rather than relying on government’s welfare packages,” he said.
Bakare explained that with banditry activities in the state, even the state government would not concentrate on the business of governance, saying that it is only when there is peace that any government can perform.
“Even though the socio-economic hardships biting so hard, it wouldn’t have got to the level it is now if farmers and business people are doing their legitimate endevours without fear of the bandits.
“In Zamfara State, more than 85 percent of the population are farmers and their livelihood depending on farming. Even the State government’s welfare packages do not come regularly as expected,” he said.
He lamented that this period remains the worst period in the history of Zamfara State, saying that nobody can move freely, comparing the situation to being in prison. He added that banditry is to blame for the escalating prices of foodstuff in the market.
Bakare urged the federal and state governments to intensify more efforts to ensure that people return to their legitimate endeavours, saying that nothing is moving in the state.