Insecurity: Ex-Senator Proposes Community-centred Strategy In Katsina

Former Katsina Central lawmaker, Senator Ibrahim Ida, has called for a holistic, and community-centred security strategy to address insecurity in Katsina State and North-West geopolitical region.

Senator Ida also warned that military operations alone cannot deliver lasting peace in the area.

Speaking on Monday at the Katsina State Investment Summit where he delivered the keynote address, the former senator and ex-Permanent Secretary in the Presidency stressed that insecurity remains the biggest threat to economic recovery and investor confidence.

He stressed that while security agencies play crucial role, the root causes of the crisis must be tackled at the community level.

“A more holistic, community-centred strategy is urgently needed, one that addresses both the symptoms and the root causes of the crisis. No society enmeshed in crisis prospers, and Katsina will not be an exception”, he said

Ida explained that the insurgency and banditry ravaging parts of the North-West arose from a mix of poverty, youth unemployment, weakened trust in governance, and unresolved local grievances.

According to him, these underlying factors cannot be neutralised by force alone.

He described youthful, unemployed population known in local parlance as “sojan bante” as particularly vulnerable to recruitment by violent groups, adding that government must expand education, vocational training, and economic opportunities to blunt the appeal of criminality.

The Wazirin Katsina insisted that communities must be empowered as “first responders” in early warning, intelligence gathering, peacebuilding, and conflict resolution.

He added that traditional rulers, women’s groups, youth associations, religious leaders, and local vigilantes, all have critical roles to play.

“When communities are empowered, informed, and fully integrated into the security architecture, they become active agents in preserving peace rather than passive victims,” he said.

He further urged communities to support Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), mobilise local networks for reintegration, and collaborate with security agencies to rebuild trust and operational effectiveness.

Ida tied the security challenge directly to the summit’s economic agenda, arguing that no investment agenda can succeed without stability, warning that rural productivity will remain suppressed and private capital will avoid high-risk environments unless community-led peace initiatives strengthen local resilience.

“What investors ultimately look for is a secure, predictable environment. Security is not only a government responsibility- communities are central to sustaining a safe space for development”, he noted.