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1m Tucano Jets Won’t End Banditry, Usman, Gumi Boast
Former Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Prof Usman Yusuf, has lamented what he called the Federal Government’s increasing militarisation of banditry in the country, stating that a million Tucano jets will not solve the problem.
Making reference to the 12 Tucano jets recently purchased by the Federal Government, Usman said banditry is a social issue.
His views were also echoed by Islamic cleric, Sheikh Abubakar Gumi, who expressed fears about the seeming infiltration of herdsmen by elements of the Boko Haram terrorists.
Gumi restated his earlier position that Nigeria has pushed the bandits to the wall and bemoaned the growing animosity towards the Fulani, saying while over 99percent of them are good people, it is only an insignificant number of herdsmen who have taken to crimes.
They spoke at an interactive policy dialogue and cultural festival organised by the Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore Fulani Socio-cultural Association launched with the aim of addressing challenges confronting the Fulani ethnic stock in Nigeria.
The first interactive policy dialogue and cultural festival with the theme “The future of Fulani Pastoralists in Nigeria” was held, yesterday, in Abuja.
Delivering his keynote address, Usman said: “Banditry is a social problem and Nigeria is increasingly militarising it. There is a role for the military, but there is not going to be a military solution to banditry anywhere in this country.
“Only if we all come in to solve this problem, and it is not time to blame anybody; we are all in this mess together and somebody told me we all bore this ‘pregnancy’ and gave birth to this monster called banditry.
“We are all responsible for this problem directly or indirectly, and the soldiers are called to clean up the mess. I told them, military, you cannot do this alone.”
Usman added that the menace is fuelled by two ingredients— drugs supplied from southern Nigeria and arms supplied from the core-North and neighbouring countries like Niger.
He recalled his visits to the forests alongside Sheikh Gumi and others, saying clerics have a great role to play in resolving the issue.
Usman said: “Turji Kone of the bandit leaders waited for us for two hours. He said he waited because he heard it was a cleric.
“So also we were in Niger State; the meeting in Niger was a meeting of six war commanders from different northern states. They waited for us and you could see the respect they had for clerics.
“The clerics and traditional rulers are there to get to the heart of these kids not soldiers. We must sit down and realise where we have gone wrong.
“From Zamfara we went south down to Ilesha-Baruten, closer to the border with Benin Republic or Kogi State. The further down we went, the more we saw the beautiful Fulani we were used to with sticks.
“Up North, the sticks have been replaced with AK-47 and AK-49; you see kids living on AK-47 and AK-49.
“Sheikh DahiruBauchi opens his mouth and they listen, and they have the pictures of Sheikh DahiruBauchi. These are the people we need to go through and not the military.
“You can have a million Tucano jets you cannot solve this problem.”
On his part, Gumi said; “They (bandits) have been pushed to the wall. Somebody will say they are criminals, but I wonder who is not a criminal.
“When villagers would hear on radio that this governor or accountant has stolen billions, what do you expect him to do? He would steal too.
“My only fear is the infiltration of terrorists into their midst. I think it is something we have to consider very seriously.
“We have to go in and capture them from terror. And even the terrorists themselves, I think there has been some neglect.
“I discussed with a former president who told me that he has been to some areas where you have Boko Haram and that they are ready to lay down their arms with conditions, but the government of that day refused to accept those conditions.
“Up till now, Boko Haram is not a hopeless case. We have to protect our herdsmen from the infiltration of terrorists,” he stated.
Vice President Kashim Shettima has arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for an official State visit at the invitation of the Prime Minister, Dr. Abiy Ahmed.
Upon arrival yesterday, Shettima was received at the airport by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, Dr. Gedion Timothewos, and other members of the Ethiopian and Nigerian diplomatic corps.
Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Communication, Stanley Nkwocha, revealed this in a statement he signed yesterday, titled: “VP Shettima arrives in Ethiopia for official state visit.”
During the visit, Vice President Shettima will participate in the official launch of Ethiopia’s Green Legacy Programme, a flagship environmental initiative.
The programme designed to combat deforestation, enhance biodiversity, and mitigate the adverse effects of climate change targets the planting of 20 billion tree seedlings over a four-year period.
In line with strengthening bilateral ties in agriculture and industrial development, the Vice President will also embark on a strategic tour of key industrial zones and integrated agricultural facilities across selected regions of Ethiopia.
News
RSG Tasks Farmers On N4bn Agric Loan ….As RAAMP Takes Sensitization Campaign To Four LGs In Rivers
The Rivers State Government has called on the people of the state especially farmers to access the ?4billion agricultural loans made available by the State and domiciled in the Bank of Industry.
This is as the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) of Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP), a World Bank project, took its sensitization campaign to Opobo/Nkoro, Andoni, Port Harcourt City and Obio/Akpor local government areas.
The campaign was aimed at enlightening community dwellers and other stakeholders in the various local government areas on the RAAMP project implementation and programme activities.
The Permanent Secretary, Rivers State Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Maurice Ogolo, said this at Opobo town, Ngo, Port Harcourt City and Rumuodumanya, headquarters of the four local government areas respectively, during the sensitization campaign.
Ogolo said apart from the ?4billion, the government has also made available fertilizers and other farm inputs to farmers in the various local government areas.
The Permanent Secretary who is the Chairman, State Steering Committee for the project, said RAAMP will construct roads that will connect farms to markets to enable farmers and fishermen sell their farms produce and fishes.
He also said rural roads would be constructed to farms and fishing settlements, and warned against any act that will lead to the cancellation of the projects in the four local government areas.
According to him, the World Bank and Federal Government which are the financiers of the programme will not condone such acts like kidnapping, marching ground and other acts inimical to the successful implementation of the projects in their respective areas.
At PHALGA, Ogolo asserted that the city will benefit in the areas of roads and bridge construction.
He noted that RAAMP was thriving in both the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja; Lagos and other states in the country, stressing that the project should also be given the seriousness it deserves in Rivers State.
Speaking at Opobo town, the headquarters of Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area, the project coordinator, RAAMP, Mr.Joshua Kpakol, said the programme would reduce poverty in the state.
According to him, both fishermen and farmers will maximally benefit from the programme.
At Ngo which is the headquarters of Andoni Local Government Area, Kpakol said roads will be constructed to all remote fishing settlements.
He said Rivers State is lucky to be among the states implementing the project, and stressed the need for the people to embrace it.
Meanwhile, Kpakol said at PHALGA that RAAMP is a project that will transform the lives of farmers, traders and other stakeholders in the area.
He urged the stakeholders to spread the information to their various communities.
However, some of the stakeholders at Opobo town complained about the destruction of their farms by bulls allegedly owed by traditional rulers in the area, as well as incessant stealing of their canoes at waterfronts.
At Ngo, Archbishop Elkanah Hanson, founder of El-Shaddai Church, commended the World Bank and the Federal Government for bringing the projects to Andoni.
He stressed the need for the construction of roads to fishing settlements in the area.
Also, a former Commissioner for Agriculture in the state and Okan Ama of Ekede, HRH King Gad Harry, noted that storage facilities have become necessary for a successful agricultural programme.
Harry also stressed the need for the programme to be made sustainable.
In their separate speeches, the administrators of Andoni and Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Areas, pledged their readiness to support the programme.
At Port Harcourt City, the Administrator, Dr Arthur Kalagbor, represented by the Head of Local Government Administration, Port Harcourt City, Mr Clifford Paul, said the city would support the implementation of the programme in the area.
Also, the administrator of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Dr Clifford Ndu Walter, represented by Mr Michael Elenwo, pledged to support the programme in his local government area.
Among dignitaries at the Obio/Akpor stakeholders engagement is the chairman, Rivers State Traditional Rulers Council and paramount ruler of Apara Kingdom, HRM Eze Chike Wodo, amongst others.
John Bibor
President Bola Tinubu has ordered the commencement of personnel audit and skill gap analysis across all cadres of federal civil servants.
The president gave this directive in Abuja, yesterday, while speaking at the International Civil Service Conference, reaffirming his resolve to achieve efficiency and professional service delivery in the civil service.
“I have authorized the comprehensive personnel audit and skill gap analysis across the federal civil service to deepen capacity. I urge all responsible stakeholders to prioritize timely completion of this critical exercise, to begin implementing targeted reforms, to realize the full benefit of a more agile, competent and responsive civil service,” the president announced.
Tinubu further directed all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), to prioritise data integrity and sovereignty in national interest.
He called for the capture, protection and strategic publication of public sector data in line with the Nigeria Data Protection Act of 2023.
“We must let our data speak for us. We must publish verified data assets within Nigeria and share them internationally recognized as fruitful. This will allow global benchmarking organisation to track our progress in real time and help us strengthen our position on the world stage. This will preserve privacy and uphold data sovereignty,” Tinubu added.
President Tinubu hailed the federal civil service as the “engine” driving his Renewed Hope Agenda, and the vehicle for delivering sustainable national development.
He submitted that the roles of civil servants remain indispensable in modern governance, declaring that in the face of a fast-evolving digital and economic landscape, the civil service must remain agile, future-ready, and results-driven.
“This maiden conference is a bold step toward redefining governance in an era of rapid transformation. An innovative Civil Service ensures we meet today’s needs and overcome tomorrow’s challenges.
“It captures our collective ambition to reimagine and reposition the civil service. In today’s rapid, evolving world of technology, innovation remains critical in ensuring that the civil service is dynamic, digital” the President said.
Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack in her welcome address told the President that his presence and strong words of commendation at the conference has renewed the morale and mandate of public servants across the country.
Walson-Jack described Tinubu as the backbone of driving transformation in the Nigerian civil service, and noted that the takeaways from past study tours undertaken to understudy the civil service in Singapore, the UK and US under her leadership, is already yielding multiplier effects.
Walson-Jack assured Tinubu that her office, in collaboration with reform-minded stakeholders, will not relent in accelerating the implementation of the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan, FCSSIP 25.
She affirmed that digitalisation, performance management, and continuous learning remain key pillars in strengthening accountability, transparency, and service delivery across MDAs.
Walson-Jack reaffirmed that the civil service is determined to exceed expectations by embedding a culture of innovation, ethical leadership, and citizen-centred governance in the heart of public administration.