TheCable

Vice-President Kashim Shettima says poor governance has a “direct bearing” on the spate of banditry and kidnapping in the north-west geopolitical zone.

Shettima spoke on Wednesday when he hosted the Coalition of Northern States’ Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (CONSCCIMA), at the presidential villa in Abuja.

The coalition was led by Dalhatu Abubakar, its president.

The vice-president said “re-engineering and re-strategising” of affairs in the north is necessary to catapult the region into “accelerated” development.

The north-west comprises seven states — Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto, and Zamfara.

Specifically, Zamfara, Katsina and Sokoto have been hotbeds of banditry, resulting in the abductions and killing of residents in recent times.

Shettima said stakeholders in the entire north “have to go back to the drawing board, re-assess the state of affairs in the region and come up with robust platforms of re-engineering our society”.

“It is imperative for the north to embark on the re-strategising and re-engineering of the region to reposition it for accelerated development,” NAN quoted Shettima as saying. 

“Most of the issues highlighted by the president of CONSCCIMA are very poignant as these are issues that touch the lives and wellbeing of our people.

“There can never be development without peace and there can never be peace without development.

“Especially in the north-west through the Pulaku initiative. The Pulaku initiative is a robust solution towards addressing the challenges in the north-west.

“It is a solution aimed at addressing the challenges of banditry, kidnapping and the situation in the north-west which cannot be divorced from the issue of governance.

“Poor governance has a direct bearing on what we are harvesting in the north-west.”

The vice-president commended CONSCCIMA for its commitment to the development of the north through various industrial projects, noting that any society that wants to achieve economic development must cultivate peace and stability.

In his remarks, Abubakar said the coalition is ready to partner with the federal government to revitalise the economy of the north.