Focus on National Peace, Security not Election – WAANSA tells Politicians

By
ZAINAB TANIMU
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(L-R) NUJ Kaduna Council Chairman, Comrade Abdulgafar Alabelewe and First Vice President, WAANSA, Martin Igwe.
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Focus on National Peace, Security not Election – WAANSA tells Politicians

Zainab Tanimu

Kaduna, Northwest Nigeria

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The West Africa Action Network Against Small Arms Proliferation (WAANSA)

has called on politicians to shift focus to people orientated issues. Issues bedevilling the cooperate existence of the nation rather than focusing on the 2027 election.
“Election is about the living, not the dead. Our people are dying daily, yet leaders appear more interested in political permutations than in saving lives or rebuilding devastated communities.”

 

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The Regional Vice president WAANSA, Mr. Martin Igwe made this call while at Nuj Kaduna secretariat on Wednesday for a courtesy visit.
The group he said was in NUJ to seek collaboration, discuss on way forward on how the media could help towards tackling issues of insecurity and achieving national peace.
The media being the Fourth Estate of the Realm and an agenda setter could help in sharpening discussions around issues bedevilling the cooperate existence of the
nation.
By amplifying the areas of concerns, it could bring about possible solutions to the problems bedevilling the country. He said.

Lamenting, the situation Nigeria finds itself, is pathetic thus the need for like minds to gather together and chart a wayforward.

“I thought it wise we should collectively appreciate the sympathetic situation we find ourselves. Most of our brothers have farms, but they cannot go to farm because of the criminal elements. That causes food insecurity.

“Nigeria, we are in a war situation, but because we find ourselves in towns, we don’t know what many people are going through in their local communities.

“Most of the northern states are the victims of some of these crisis but unfortunately a lot of efforts is being put into 2027 election without talking about peace, without talking about security of the region, without talking about food, without talking about the infrastructure that can trigger development.
Poverty, lack of education, lack of access to health facilities, unemployment are contributing to the insecurity being faced as a nation.
“When people cannot farm, hunger follows, and when hunger strikes, criminality grows,”  He stressed.
States like Sokoto, Katsina, Kwara and Zamfara because of the porous nature of their borders he said have become easy assess for the flow of  illegal arms and bandits into the country.
He appealed to the northern governors to take proactive actions to finding lasting solutions to the problems. They have big role to play as they are the most hit by the insecurity. Particularly states that are by the border.

The regional vice president, WAANSA also appealed to the Deputy Senate President, Senator Barau Jibrin, the No 2 at the ECOWAS Parliament, to rise up to the situation by rallying round his colleagues across the sub-region for a proactive initiative to tackle the security situations across the borders.

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He noted that most of our young boys and girls today are into drugs.

To be successful in the fight against banditry, aside the issue of funding by high placed persons, more he said needs to be done in the area of inflow and intake of drugs by our youth because research has shown that drug is associated to banditry.

Igwe a graduate from Bayero University, is appealing to the media, which he considered vital instrument for his advocacy, to give maximum support in his fight to achieving national cohesion and stability.

WAANSA, he informed exists across all 15 ECOWAS member states.

Responding, the Council Chairman, Comrade Abdulgafar Alabelewe thanked the organisation for deeming his members fit to be part of the campaign.

The call for media supports has given us hope that Nigeria can still be better. He assured of the council readiness to partner the association.

Contributing to the issue of insecurity,

Alabelewe urged state governments to emulate Kaduna state government by adopting it non-kinetic approach to conflict management, for better results.

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