Former Vice President of Nigeria and a chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has said Nigerians are no longer impressed by the government’s strong language of condemnation.
Atiku made the remark while expressing concern over the increasing audacity of bandits, who he said now attack at will without being challenged.
Reacting to the latest attack on Kurmin Wali community in Kajuru Local Government Area of Kaduna State, Atiku said it was worrying that while some states claim success in their peace deals with bandits, the same criminals continue to attack communities and take hostages.
According to him, “It’s colossally embarrassing to see non-state actors holding the country hostage, attacking people and taking hostages again and again, unchallenged.”
He observed that it is difficult to achieve deterrence in a situation where governors are on their knees begging bandits in the name of peace deals.
The former vice president explained that while he is not opposed to negotiations aimed at ending violence, he would not accept a situation where bandits dictate peace deals on their own terms.
“Those peace deals always favour the bandits more than their victims, and they have always fooled the government’s negotiators,” he said.
Furthermore, Atiku advised that the government should not wait until bandits launch attacks before responding.
“Nigerians are no longer impressed by the powerful language of condemnation by the government. They are more interested in results than rhetoric. Experience has shown that if rhetoric were enough to deter bandits, the menace would have ended a long time ago,” he lamented.
The ADC chieftain stressed that the Tinubu-led APC administration must be held accountable for its campaign promises to end insecurity in the country.
“Nigerians cannot be comforted by excuses. As a former opposition party, the APC held the government of the day to the harshest and most merciless standards; therefore, the Tinubu administration must be held to the same standards,” he said.
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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