Blame bad leadership for terrorism in North — Govs

Borno State Governor, Ahaji Kashim Shetima, on Wednesday, traced the  emergence of  the Boko Haram insurgency and other  violence in the North to bad governance resulting from the high rate of poverty in the region.

Also, his Kaduna State counterpart, Patrick Yakowa, lamented that insecurity, particularly the Boko Haram insurgence  in the region, had taken its toll on every aspect of the lives of the people.
Both governors agreed that bad governance and lack of injustice could be responsible for the terrorists activities in the region.
The duo spoke at the  Kaduna Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists Chairman’s Round Table held at the Arewa House, Kaduna, on Wednesday.
The Borno governor  noted that lack of political will to implement the various panel reports on crisis in the North  contributed  to the continued violence in the region.
Speaking on the theme,  ‘The North as hotbed for conflicts:  Causes and solution’, Shetima, who was represented by the state Commissioner for Information and Home Affair, Mr. Inuwa Bwala, insisted that violence in the region  was a problem of bad leadership greed and corruption.
According to the governor, northerners had no business being poor but for the bad leadership in the region.
He said, “In the midst of this poverty and squalor, we talk about the arrogant and contemptuous display of wealth by the rich in our society.”
However, Shetima added that as part of efforts to ensure lasting peace in his state,  his administration had put up measures to reduce the level of poverty in the state.
Yakowa, who was represented by  his deputy, Alhaji Mukhtar Yero, said the reason for the level of disenchantment and violent activities in parts of the North could not be unconnected with injustice, bad governance and lack of fairness in the way things were being done.
He noted that the response of the governors to the  situation in the North precipitated series of meetings which  resulted in the setting up of committees and interstate collaboration and cooperation on the security challenges. He  therefore enjoined the people to support government in  tackling the problem.
He added that northern leaders should also address the Almajiris problem  with a view to keeping them off the streets as quickly as possible.
Also, speaking on the occasion, Kaduna state Commissioner of  Police, Mr. Olufemi  Adenaike, noted that the security challenges in some parts of the country would have abated if citizens volunteered information to the police or other security agencies.
Chairman, Kaduna Council of the NUJ, Alhaji Yusuf Idris, said the Round Table became imperative in view of the security challenges in parts of the North.