Thread by @eobilo

AS VIOLENCE ENGULFS NORTHERN NIGERIA

Every person concerned about the progress of Nigeria is worried about the worsening violence that has engulfed the north of Nigeria. It is violence in its naked forms, as bandits with dangerous weapons lay siege to the state.

There are killings in Katsina, Sokoto, Zamfara, and Bornu.
The violence prevent persons from accessing food, shelter and healthcare services. Seven million people in northeast Nigeria require assistance and protection, including 1.8 million internally displaced people.

The 2018 Humanitarian Response Plan for Nigeria requests $1.05 billion dollar to assist 6.2 million people.
The escalating situation calls for a reappraisal of the issues of poverty and religion fueling the conflicts.

The state should be awaken to the realization that a deprived and hungry people are amenable to the dictates of forces bent on derailing the state, the reason President Muhammadu Buhari cannot distance himself from what the North has become.

Perhaps, Buhari understands the enormity of the situation, but there are those who see him as not mobilizing and deploying solutions to the conflicts. To these ones, Buhari should explain his inaction.

Buhari says the Northeast geopolitical zone is safer under his watch contrary to the opinions of critics like the Catholic Bishop of Yola Diocese, Stephen Mamza.

Bishop Mamza describes Buhari as a “sleeping-on-duty commander-in-chief,” but Buhari takes exception to this, stating that he has done enough for the protection of the people than previous administrations.

Previous administrations include Obasanjo, Yar Adua and Jonathan presidencies. Whenever the president reminds me of the past and the men that bred the dysfunctionality, he only succeeds in assessing himself using a weak template.

That President Buhari relies on the follies of time as the benchmark to determine his success is not unconnected to the worsening security and poverty in Nigeria.

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#NationBuilding