– President Muhammadu Buhari has been advised to declare a state of emergency in Zamfara state as a result of the continued killings and destruction of lives and properties in the Northwest state
– The call was made by Senator Saidu Mohammad Dansadau
– Dansadau said this was the only solution that will prevent the chaos in Zamfara state
President Muhammadu Buhari
Dansadau, a former lawmaker further revealed that the call became necessary due to the incessant crisis in the state. He said the federal government under the leadership pf President Muhammadu Buhari should appoint a sole administrator who will oversee the affairs of the state, in order to restore calm.
Dansadau, who represented Zamfara Central senatorial district during the 4th and 5th National Assembly, criticised Governor Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara, leaving his primary roles of providing welfare of the people and ensuring the protection of lives and properties.
The Zamfara born former legislator said due to the governor’s complacency, cattle rustlers and marauding Fulani herdsmen have persistently rape, maim and murder innocent members of the society, emphasising that there is no more security in Zamfara..
Dansadau blamed the governor of just gallivanting around the world, leaving his state in chaos, adding that that Governor Yari hardly stays in the state.
The former lawmaker revealed that at least 360 people were killed as a result of the activities of cattle rustlers in the last five years.
Senator Saidu Mohammed Dansadau
Dansadau, who spoke to newsmen on Sunday, June 26 at Abuja, explained that he has submitted a copy of his letter calling for a state of emergency in Zamfara state to President Muhammadu Buhari as well as the Senate president, Dr Abubakar Bukola Saraki.
The two time Senator expressed his worries that if something was not done immediately by the Buhari-led administration to nip the situation in the bud, the crisis may trickle down to other states.
He stated: “This dereliction of responsibility by the governor of Zamfara State has cost the state, unimaginable number of precious lives and property worth billions of naira.
“In Dansadau state constituency alone, about 360 people have been killed. If the killings in the remaining 23 state constituencies in the state are added, the total number of lives lost can better be imagined. All these losses would have been averted were the governor alive to his constitutional responsibilities.
“One of the pitiful manifestations of the governor’s nonchalant approach to governance is the mismanagement of the relationship between cattle herdsmen and settled farmers in Zamfara State, giving rise to what is now known as cattle rustling.
“From time immemorial, there has been harmonious co- existence between Hausa indigenes and Fulani settlers in Zamfara. In the first 12 years of democracy since 1999, both groups lived in peace, with each respecting the sensibilities of the other.
“There were no killings of tribal coloration; until Governor Yari took the reins of governance in Zamfara state.
“Since then, there has been a trail of daily killings, abductions, rapes, kidnappings, attacks on rustic villages, the scale, regularity and ferocity we have never witnessed before.”
On the issue of bloodthirsty Fulani herdsmen, about two weeks ago, some women in Enugu state led a protest expressing their sadness over persistent attack on their community by suspected Fulani herdsmen.
