Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, Chairman, Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF), on Monday decried that monetary reward to bandits by some governors under whatever guise, payment of ransom to kidnappers, reinforce and escalate the Boko Haram war in northeast Nigeria.
Governor Fayemi on a visit to President Muhammadu Buhari at the State House, Abuja, expressed that military action alone will not be enough to win the war against the Boko Haram terrorists in the northeast Nigeria.
The Ekiti governor was of the view that there is a correlation between violent activities of bandits in the northwest, kidnapping in the southwest, and terrorism in the northeast. It is observable that Boko Haram terrorism in the northeast outdated banditry in the northwest or kidnapping on large scale across the country. However, the governor may have a strong point in drawing correlation between these violent activities and the terrorism in the northeast, as well as stating that money realised from banditry and kidnapping escalate terrorism in the northeast.
The Ekiti governor also berated leaders for deepening the gap between the government and the people, essentially, the poverty or richness gap.
“The nation is in urgent need of a political will to bridge the gap between the government and the youths as well as synergy among security operatives to tackle the Boko Haram crisis,” Fayemi declared.
He called on the National Assembly to support and effect the necessary legislation that will fast track President Buhari’s resolve to accelerate processes to procure more security equipment in partnerships with other countries.