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By Tayo ABIOLA
The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, has been urged to allow President Bola Tinubu’s administration to work out solutions capable of addressing the nation’s twin challenges of insecurity and poverty which cannot be tackled overnight.
The Yoruba nation activist, Chief Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, made the appeal in a personally signed statement forwarded to journalists on Thursday, while reacting to the position of the Sultan of Sokoto on the prevalent hardship and spate of insecurity in some parts of the country,
Adeyemo argued that relevant stakeholders in governance, economy, security, and other critical sectors cannot but agree that the country’s hydra-headed insecurity problem spanning decades and socioeconomic obstacles must be confronted and surmounted for Nigeria to achieve peace and development.
Recall, Abubakar, in his capacity as the chairman, Northern Traditional Rulers’ Council, during the sixth executive meeting of the council in Area House, Kaduna, on Wednesday, declared that Nigeria was sitting on a keg of gunpowder, considering poverty, hardship, and ravaging insecurity plaguing the nation.
He charged the Federal Government to take action in order to mitigate the suffering of the masses, whom he said are hungry and angry about their condition.
However, Adeyemo, while observing that Sultan’s position on the current state of the nation was not out of place, maintained that the blame for the bad economy, perennial insecurity problem, food inflation, unemployment, and youth restiveness should not be heaped on Tinubu’s administration, which is just about eight months old.”
The statement reads: “It is important for our leaders at all levels, be it religious or traditional, to demonstrate commitment to bring solutions to the table at this crucial point in our history. Our problems as a nation are foundational.
“Nigeria had been in a precarious state in terms of bad governance, a poor economy, terrorism, insecurity, and irresponsive leadership for decades. I believe that the Federal Government is not unconcerned about the plight of the people and has taken steps to remedy the situation.
“While we cannot gloss over the incessant attacks by rampaging herdsmen on farmlands across Nigeria, most especially during the immediate past regime of former President Muhammadu Buhari, thus forcing thousands of farmers to abandon farm settlements, it is thoughtful to say that the effect of farmers/herders clashes, leading to killings, destruction of farms, has been devastating on food production and the agriculture value chain.
“This worrisome development has been one of the major causes of food insecurity and the increase in prices of food items and commodities. We need to allow the incumbent administration to explore all measures being deployed to address inflation, foreign exchange issues, and exorbitant foodstuff prices, which will soon yield results.
“The recent decision by the government to deploy troops for the protection of farmers against herders’ attacks, which are negatively affecting harvest and food productivity, will further boost the confidence of peasant farmers and agric entrepreneurs to return to farms. Also, the plan to set up the National Commodity Board will checkmate escalating food inflation,” the statement concluded.
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