Mohammed Nasir, Gusau
The current wave of banditry, kidnapping and cattle rustling in Zamfara State has led to the death of over 3,526 people with over 8,219 persons sustaining various degrees of injuries in the last eight years. A great deal of harm has also come to socio-economic reality of the state as over 13,000 hectares of farmlands were destroyed by the bandits in the 14 local government areas.
The misfortune is happening, despite efforts by government at all levels to rid the state of these nefarious criminals. Though there is no official Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps in the state, but investigations by showed that the victims are in over 500 ransacked camps in Gusau, the state capital, and all the council headquarters.
This has made life miserable for the victims.
The IDPs are roaming the streets of the major towns, working as fingernail cutters (Yan yanka farche), load carriers (Yan dako) or alms beggars (almajirai) to survive.
Malam Sanusi Abubakar, one of those who were lucky to have escaped unhurt from their village in Birnin Magaji Local Government Area admitted that he and his colleagues that migrated to Gusau are going through hard time as they do not have any meaningful source of livelihood. Abubakar who lives in an open field, revealed that after the attack on their village, he had no option but to move out because their farmlands and food storage were destroyed.
Another victim, Shafi’u Gidan Juli from Gusami, also in Birnin Magaji LG, said his family, two wives and 10 children, relocated to Gusau when life became unbearable for them in the village. He lost eight other relatives to the attack:
“Over 150 of our people are currently taking refuge in Gusau not because we like it but we were forced to relocate to save our lives and look for food to survive.”
Malama Maryamu Ibrahim, a widow who lost her husband to the bandits and is presently living with relatives in Maradun town of Maradun Local Government, said she and her fellow widows have turned to beggars: “We are appealing to the state and federal governments to please come to our aid to save us from this perpetual suffering which we are going through.”
Others who spoke pleaded for more proactive measures by the military and other security agencies fighting the banditry scourge to restore security and peace for which Zamfara State was reputed for before the wake of cattle rustling.
The immediate past governor, Alhaji Yari Abubakar, at various forums, had promised to provide needed support to the security agencies to stem the tide of insecurity. He donated 570 operational vehicles and other logistics to the security agencies.
The Federal Commissioner, National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons- (NCRMIDP), Hajia Sadiya Faruq, recently donated relief items including grains, sugar, bedding materials, toiletries, milk and cosmetics to IDPs in the five local government areas of Birnin-Magaji, Maradun, Shinkafi, Tsafe and Zurmi. “We are so concerned about the future of the orphans and widows, we want to impact them positively to enable them become self reliant,” she said.
A resident of Gusau, Abdullahi Sani, described the plights of the displaced persons as worrisome, adding that urgent intervention was needed: “If the current influx of displaced persons from the remote villages into major cities is not checked, it is capable of causing more hardship for the people.”