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From Okwe Obi and Adanna Nnamani, Abuja
The First Lady of Bauchi State, Aisha Mohammed, has linked lack of education, communication gap between the government and the people, injustice among ethnic and religious followers in the country, to the spate of insecurity and poverty.
Mohammed stated this during the commemoration of this year’s United Nations International Day of Remembrance and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism, organised by Gender Strategy Advancement International (GSAI), yesterday in Abuja.
She implored government to invest heavily in education and to ensure that victims of terrorism get justice, in order to regain the confidence of the masses.
“It is quite unfortunate that most of the part of the country over the years, are facing security challenges including terrorism, banditry, pipeline vandalism among other violence and crimes.
“The negative development has continued to create havocs to the lives of people, especially women who are most vulnerable.
“I will at this juncture, draw the attention of all the relevant stakeholders to give more attention to root causes of such vices with a view to finding lasting solutions to the insecurity bedeviling most of our communities.
“Investigations reveal how some factors contribute to escalations of crimes such as terrorism, rape, banditry and violence.
“These include lack of education among youths, communication gap between the government and the governed, lack of awareness, injustice among ethnic and religious followers in the country.
“Others are lack of financial contribution to the victims and emotional support, delay of justice.
“These factors are the major contributors to terrorism, banditry and kidnapping.”
Also, the Executive Director of GSAI, Adaora Onyechere, pointed out the Federal Government failed to integrate women in counter insurgency operations, adding that women are reputed enablers of insurgents’ activities.
According to her, the National Action Plan (NAP), aimed at fulfilling the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325, has not reflected in the ongoing armed conflict between the Nigeria and Boko Haram insurgents.
‘Although the country has developed a National Action Plan to fulfil the UN Security Council Resolution 1325, this is not reflected in the ongoing armed conflict between the Nigerian state and Boko Haram.
“For example, while women and children are most affected by the insurgency, there are few women involved in COIN operations, with government forces estimated to be 98 percent male,” she argued.
