Why insecurity persists in northern states, by Yuguda

BAUCHI State Governor Isah Yuguda has attributed the persistent insecurity in the northern part of the country to the collapse of the educational systems of the states in the zone.

He lamented that the sector, which was supposed to be breeding human beings, had collapsed and that it was breeding criminals.

Yuguda, who delivered a lecture on the “Contemporary Development Challenges in Bauchi State” yesterday at the Institute of Security Studies, Abuja, stated that most youths had been indoctrinated into the belief that Christians and Muslims were enemies.

He said: “The psyche of many young people has been destroyed through the collapse of government, we have created those criminals through the collapse of educational systems in the states.”

Stressing the need to urgently tackle the problems of fanatics in both religions, he said some imams had made some Muslims to believe that Christians were threatening Muslims, while some pastors were equally doing the same thing.

He said there was the need for the government to check these vices, and keep the fanatics away from others so as not to corrupt the beliefs of the latter.

He said: “Fanaticism is a monster that should be chased away from us. Anyone fighting Jihad is a criminal and not a Muslim and he does not understand what Jihad truly stands for. They believe the government is corrupt and cannot provide for its people.”

Acknowledging corruption in government, he said the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) should have seen the rot in the system and investigated it earlier before it degenerated to the existing level.

Yuguda, who noted that the problem of Bauchi State did not start recently, disclosed that on assumption of office, he was faced with poor learning and healthcare service conditions.

He said: “When I came into office, there were no schools, no hospitals, insecurity was at its peak. There was a throng of unemployed youths and to crown it all, I inherited a debt profile of N22 billion.”

The governor noted that to address the security problem in the North, there was the need to create jobs, provide infrastructural facilities and also re-orientate the youth.

He disclosed that the state government had removed about 50,000 unemployed graduates from the streets and had set up an institute to help re-orientate the youth.

Yuguda disclosed that the government had put plans in place to shift the poverty level in the rural areas from the existing 75 per cent to 50 per cent.