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From Tunde Omolehin, Sokoto
A former governor of Sokoto state, Alhaji Attahiru Dalhatu Bafarawa has urged the federal government to look for measures that could boost food security.
Bafarawa who was a presidential candidate of the Democratic Peoples Party (DPP) during the 2007 general elections stated this during a chat with journalists in Sokoto at the weekend.
He said it is important for the leaders of Nigeria to note that insecurity is not limited to banditry, saying that food insecurity could be worse than banditry.
He explained that the current hiking in the prices of essential commodities could be worse if the federal and state governments did not find a lasting solution.
According to him, the current banditry in most parts of the country will be a child’s play compared to if the consequences of food insecurity are allowed by the Federal government to avail themselves.
“The governments should do all that they can, especially in the Northeast, Northwest and North Central, and in other states where banditry seems to have settled, to fight the scourge to the end.
“Attention should also be paid in those states and regions considered to be food producers in this country, to ensure those in the communities are returned to their farms in order to produce goods for citizens.
“Banditry has stopped farming activities, and most farmers have left their farming communities and returned to safer places for fear of attacks by bandits.
“If the Federal government fails to do something, one wonders what will happen in three months from now,” he further explained.
Bafarawa stressed the importance of the role of the media in drawing the attention of the government to the debacle facing, especially rural communities.
“The media is important in this fight against these maladies. You are on the ground; you see what happens to the people in our rural communities; you are seeing the effect of banditry,” he said.
