Why FG can't Overcome Banditry now, Buhari's Minister Speaks up
- Senator George Akume has blamed the thriving of banditry on inadequate emergency response capacity in Nigeria
- The senator noted that if the scourge of banditry must be decisively dealt with, the federal government, as well as all citizens, must get more involved
- Akume also pointed at the lack of a unity of purpose in the management of IDPs, especially in the northern part of the country
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According to Senator George Akume, the minister of special duties and intergovernmental affairs, there are certain factors why the federal government is finding it hard to overcome banditry.
Akume who was once a governor of Benue, on Wednesday, April 21, during a book launch in Abuja first pointed out that victory over the menace demands the participation of all and sundry in the country.
Source: Twitter
In a statement seen by Daily Trust, the minister admitted that poor emergency preparedness and policy intervention, among other indices, are partly responsible for the problem.
He noted:
“The challenges facing Nigeria include but not limited to inadequate emergency preparedness and response, the gap between relief materials management and durable development projects, and ad-hoc planning and policy intervention."
The Sun reported that Akume also mentioned the absence of an institutional framework for the management of persons drastically affected by insurgency, adding that this has led to the lack of unity of purpose among related agencies.
His words:
“There is also lack of institutional and legal framework for the management of internally displaced population in Nigeria, insufficient or absence of inter-agency collaboration which mostly results in agencies working at cross purposes with duplicative activities.
“The lack of a defined strategy and appropriate national framework of cooperation among relevant agencies and institutions to design a sustainable action plan for medium-long terms projects have been a huge deficit for policy makers."
Meanwhile, Senator Ahmad Lawan, the Senate president, had said that drug barons in the country provided terrorist groups like Boko Haram as well as bandits and kidnappers with arms and ammunitions to undertake criminal activities in the country.
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Legit.ng reported that Lawan made this known on Thursday, March 4, when the chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brigadier-General Buba Marwa (rtd), paid a visit to his office in Abuja.
Source: Legit.ng
