VICE President Kashim Shettima has said poor governance has a “direct bearing” on the spate of banditry and kidnapping in the north-west geopolitical zone.
Shettima spoke when he hosted the Coalition of Northern States’ Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture, CONSCCIMA, at the presidential villa in Abuja.
The coalition was led by Dalhatu Abubakar, its president.
The vice president said “re-engineering and re-strategizing” affairs in the north is necessary to catapult the region into “accelerated” development.
The north-west comprises seven states: Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto, and Zamfara.
Specifically, Zamfara, Katsina, and Sokoto have been hotbeds of banditry, resulting in the abduction and killing of residents in recent times.
Shettima said stakeholders in the entire north “have to go back to the drawing board, re-assess the state of affairs in the region, and come up with robust platforms for re-engineering our society”.
“It is imperative for the north to embark on the re-strategizing and re-engineering of the region to reposition it for accelerated development,” NAN quoted Shettima as saying.
“Most of the issues highlighted by the president of CONSCCIMA are very poignant, as these are issues that touch the lives and wellbeing of our people.
“There can never be development without peace, and there can never be peace without development”
“Especially in the north-west through the Pulaku initiative. The Pulaku initiative is a robust solution to addressing the challenges in the north-west.
“It is a solution aimed at addressing the challenges of banditry, kidnapping, and the situation in the north-west, which cannot be divorced from the issue of governance.