TheCable

President Muhammadu Buhari has asked Nigerians to be fair in assessing how his administration has handled security challenges.

Buhari spoke on Friday when Tidjani Ali Bin Arabi, grand Khalifa of the Tijjaniyya Islamic Movement world-wide, visited him at the state house.

Arabi was accompanied by Abdullahi Ganduje, governor of Kano, and Dahiru Bauchi, a leader of a faction of the movement in Nigeria.

According to the president, the federal government is well aware of its responsibility with regards to security and will continue to do its best.

Buhari urged Nigerians to be fair to his government in assessing the response to security issues by reflecting on the situation at the time he took over in 2015, and the achievements “which mark a decisive break from the past”.

He cited the successes recorded by his administration in the north-east and the south-south, adding that the situation in the north-west would experience a turnaround for the better.

Buhari urged Nigerians to take responsibility and show interest in the affairs of their own security and complement what the government is currently doing.

“We have done our best and we will continue to do more by pursuing coherent and consistent policies to deal with terrorism,” Buhari said.

“I hope God will listen to our prayers.”

The president thanked Ganduje for bringing the grand Khalifa to Nigeria.

“We thank you for inviting them to come to pray for peace and stability in our country. We are grateful that they agreed to come,” he said.

Earlier, Ganduje said his government invited the Tijjaniyya world leader to Nigeria to lead the faithful in prayers against insecurity.

According to NAN, the governor said the visit of the grand Khalifa had also rekindled the old ties between the Tijjaniya and the many cultural and educational institutions in Nigeria.

“Specifically, Kano state government invited the Grand Khalifa to come to Kano and develop a good relationship between Algeria and the city of Kano,” Ganduje said.

“We invited him and his team to pray for Nigeria for peace, stability and prosperity, and also to pray for peace and stability of Kano state.”

On strategy to address the almajiri issue, the governor said the state government has introduced free and compulsory primary and secondary education for them.

According to him, most of the almajiri children are not indigenes of Kano state but as Nigerians, they are free to live anywhere in this country.

“We have built many Islamiya schools. We have reformed the almajiri system of education, and also, we have embarked on repatriation of almajiris to their respective states, some even to Republic of Niger, Republic of Cameroon,” he said.