A security expert in Zamfara State, Usman Dangata has lamented the closure of all boarding schools as a result of banditry, saying it would do more harm than good in the education sector of the State.
In an exclusive interview with DAILY POST in Gusau, the State capital, Dangata stated that since the influx of terrorists into the state, the education sector has witnessed a serious setback.
He alleged that security agencies in the state have not intensified efforts to investigate if the bandits operate on their own or are being sponsored by some unseen forces in the state.
“We are yet to be told the main reason why the rate of killings and kidnappings continue to escalate on a daily basis in the state even though we have enough security operatives in the state”, he added.
“There is no doubt that Zamfara State has become the colony of banditry in the whole country and farming activities have gone down drastically occasioning food scarcity and escalation of foodstuffs prices”
While wondering where and how the terrorists purchase their sophisticated weapons, especially the ones superior to that of the Nigerian military and other security agencies, he tasked the government to wake up to the challenges.
Dangata expressed worry that parents and guardians are now afraid to send their children to schools due to the fear of being killed or kidnapped by ravaging bandits in the state.
According to him, no bandit arrested has been prosecuted to curtail the dastard acts, “people just hear of arrests of some bandits and the outcome of the arrests is not made known to the public.
“The federal, State governments and security chiefs should not be treating the security of lives and properties of their citizens with a mere wave of the hand.”
Recall that the immediate past administration led by former Governor Bello Mohammed Matawalle had ordered the closure of all boarding schools in the State due to banditry activities ravaging the entire State.