From Agaju Madugba, Katsina
The Federal Government has described Katsina as one of the states in the country where the majority of residents live in extreme poverty.
The development, according to the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), may not be unconnected with reports of violent extremism and terrorism linked to the area as well as some other states in the North West.
The Directorate of Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism at the National Counter Terrorism Centre at the ONSA gave the verdict in Katsina, yesterday.
The Director, Ambassador Mairo Musa, was in Katsina for a meeting with the governor who was represented by Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Abdullahi Garba Faskari.
“Statistics according to the Multidimensional Poverty Index shows that approximately 72.7 per cent of the population in Katsina State, totalling 6.92 million people, are living in multidimensional poverty.
“The Office of the National Security Adviser had in 2022, approved a series of projects aimed at addressing violent extremism in North-West Nigeria, funded by the Global Community Engagement and Resilient Fund (GCERF) and implemented by Action Aid (in Kano and Kaduna), North-East Youth Initiative for Development (NEYIF in Sokoto) and Women Environmental Programme (WEP in Katsina).
“The WEP has implemented a two-and-a-half-year project (2022-June 2024) titled “Strengthening Advocacy Against Violent Extremism (SAVE)” in partnership with the Murna Foundation.
“This project, conducted in four Local Government Areas (Funtua, Dutsin-Ma, Musawa, and Jibia), has reached over 30,000 beneficiaries through 68 activities.
“Among the beneficiaries are 400 young men and women mentored on having a sense of purpose, trained in entrepreneurship and equipped with skills and resources to support their livelihoods and build their resilience.
“Women have been engaged through Women Safe Space initiatives, learning to support community vigilance and receiving revolving loans for their businesses.
“The purpose of our visit today, is to seek His Excellency’s support to scale up these initiatives as government support is crucial for sustainability to curtail the menace of violent extremism and build the resilience of communities,” Mrs. Musa noted.
The SSG said the government was ready to comply with whatever measures put in place to rectify identified negative tendencies in Katsina.
“I want to assure you that the Katsina State government under the leadership of His Excellency the Governor, is always ready to partner with the office of the National Security Adviser in both the preventive and counter aspects of terrorism.”