Zamfara State is always in the news, and for the wrong reasons most of the time. It is not only despicable and worrisome; it is always very hard to explain how this once peaceful agrarian state is now entangled in a web of a deplorable security situation, with terror elements having what can best be described as a free rein.
Arguably, Zamfara leads most states of the federation from behind. As usual, the state got yet another heartrending attention when, late last week, bandits brazenly kidnapped over one hundred persons from some communities in Maru local government area. These terrorists invaded four villages of Mutumji, Kwana, Mahuta and Unguwar Kawo and abducted 110 people for refusing to pay an exorbitant N110 million levy.
The bandit leader took the audacious step of issuing a written warning, threatening additional abductions should the exorbitant sum not be paid within a week. Subsequently, the affected residents found themselves compelled to flee, seeking refuge from the looming menace.
“We have to flee to other places due to the fear that after abducting 110 people, the leader of the bandits, sent a warning letter to us that we must pay the levy within a week or else he would send his men to come and abduct more people,” a resident told one of the national dailies.
Indeed, residents of these communities, most of whom may still be seeking refuge outside their deserted villages, like most Nigerians, never imagined a time like this would come. Unfortunately, we are witnessing a time where non-state actors brazenly invade communities and abduct scores for failing to pay an illicit levy.
Complicity writ large
How can such a large-scale operation be executed without the involvement of influential figures, possibly even within the ranks of security forces? Where are the abductees kept? How are they being fed? The veil of complicity appears unmistakable, demanding a closer examination of the intricate web of collusion enabling such acts.
This unsettling trend of bandit-imposed levies isn’t unique to Zamfara; it reverberates through the North-West states of Sokoto, Kaduna, and Katsina, though consistently denied by government and security officials. The echoes of a N10 million levy imposed on farmers in Kaduna’s Birnin-Gwari local government area earlier this year still linger, underscoring the recurring nature of this menace.
As a matter of fact, these marauders asked farmers in communities of Sabon-Layi, Tashar Keji and Ruwan Rana to either pay the fine or forget farming this year. While confirming the levy, chairman of Birnin-Gwari Emirate Progressive Union (BEPU), Ishaq Usman Kasai insisted that such had been a recurring decimal.
The brazen manner in which these abductions take place is indicative of the sad reality that the talk by government officials and even security operatives about having the deplorable security situation in most of these areas under control is a ruse.
Abdication of responsibilities
Amidst this chaos, one cannot help but question the efficacy of government intervention. How did we get to a level where bandits dictate terms to already beleaguered agrarian communities grappling with climate change-induced agricultural challenges?
More worrisome is the claim by residents of some of the affected communities that the government is aware of these illicit levies, which has been going on for long, yet action remains elusive. Would one be wrong to infer that the government is overwhelmed; hence, lacks what it takes to tame this barbarism?
As these attacks and abductions continue, they erode the people’s confidence in both the government and the security forces. Indeed, for the residents of these sleepy Zamfara communities, the government has abdicated its responsibilities of protecting lives and property!
As one resident of communities affected by the latest Zamfara abduction noted, “the only thing you will see if you go to those villages are the animals and the sick persons or the old ones who cannot trek to other places”. How this can be happening as though we are at war even though we are not, defies logic. Indeed, this mirrors a wartime scenario in a nation not officially at war.
It is true that abduction, killings and other threats to security of lives and properties is not peculiar to Zamfara State or the North West. However, the precarious situation in Zamfara seems to defy explanation.
Startling statistics
Zamfara state has a 73.98 per cent poverty rate and an unemployment rate of 54 per cent, in the midst of the worst form of insecurity with hundreds of persons being killed and communities displaced by bandits who have continued to visit mayhem on the hapless residents of most rural communities.
The state ranked 32nd scoring 0.416 in the 2021 Human Development Index (HDI) for 36 states and the FCT. In case you are not aware, the HDI measures development based on education, health and standard of living (income). As at the time of writing this, data for 2022 and 2023 is being awaited.
Despite boasting abundant natural resources like gold, copper, iron ore, tantalite, and manganese, the state remains paralyzed by insecurity and inadequate infrastructure.
Matawalle’s revelations
But one person who should know best because he was governor of Zamfara State for four years and is currently serving as the junior minister of Defence, Bello Matawale, said the frail security situation in the state and indeed the North West is exacerbated by persons exploiting it for economic benefits.
Matawale, sheds light on the economic undercurrents fueling the insecurity, labeling it an “enterprise” perpetuated by conflict entrepreneurs.
“Banditry has its economy, which is fueling the crime in the country. Conflict entrepreneurs don’t want insecurity to end in this country. Many people in the North are part of the business.
“I call it business now because those selling drugs are part of it, those selling food, fuel and other essentials to them are all part of it. The informants get a lot from doing that. They are paid handsomely for that crime. So, they don’t want the evil to end. Many people have keyed into the business.” Matawale said.
Beyond telling us that the whole thing is an enterprise, Matawale, as the minister of Defence, must working in cahoots with the state government, provide leadership by doing all it takes to end this menace as his revelations raise the urgent need for decisive action and effective leadership to quell this rising tide of criminality.
For the abductees, one hopes their families won’t have to wait long or, God forbid, in vain for their rescue. Government has to do all it takes to secure the unconditional release of all those kidnapped and time is of the essence. But as it stands, the families are living at the mercy of bandits.
