Tobi Adebayo

National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Caretaker Committee (CECPC) and Yobe state Governor, Mai Mala Buni has said that efforts by the President Muhammadu Buhari administration to curb insecurity will take a while to “bear fruits.”

Buni said this at the 2nd Colloquium of the Sultan Maccido’s Institute for Peace, Leadership and Development Studies, University of Abuja on Wednesday.

He was represented by represented by the APC CECPC National Secretary, Sen. John James Akpanudoedehe.

The Governor also stated that Nigeria’s unity is non-negotiable, adding that “secession conversations and separatists’ agitations are loud within members of the opposition and those who do not have a seat at the table in this dispensation.”

“The history of these conflicts has predated this administration. It is only expected that as time went on and events around the African continent and the Sahel region could over time would only exacerbate the issues.

“It started basically as a quest for fodder for their Cows which led to the destruction of cultivated farmlands by these herders and the reprisals by the farmers and the cycle of violence prevailed. The influx of small arms and light weapons which found its way into the West African sub-region due to the destabilization of Libya with the fall of Ghaddafi and the uprisings in the region and The ECOWAS Protocol on the Free Movement of Persons worsened the situation through the influx of criminals (under the cover of herders) from other countries into Nigeria.

“The situation deteriorated further into the banditry and kidnappings which has led to increasing tension in our lands. Successive governments could have done more to secure our borders, but sadly this was left undone, such that efforts by this Administration will take a while to bear fruits.”

Governor Buni stated further that opposition leaders must stop fanning the embers of disunity with their statements and condemn criminality for that it is.

“Statements credited to opposition leaders leave a lot to be desired. They should call evil by its name and condemn criminality for what it is, devoid of religious, political or ethnic coloration. For instance, how can a State Governor justify the bearing of arms by non-state actors? How can a Political Party even envisage that a government would be involved in the kidnapping of its Citizens. How bizarre?

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“These narratives are just pushed out into the public space through a willing media to de-market the present Administration to gain political advantage not minding the fact that the national security of the nation is at stake.

“Just few days ago, a leading opposition figure blatantly, without basis, accused the federal government of attempting to assassinate the Benue state Governor, and even promised war. This was long before a Criminal group laid claims to the unfortunate attack on the Governor of Benue State. This posture only encourages the criminals as they tend to intimidate and cause panic within the system,” he said.