Kaduna State Governor, Senator Uba Sani, has said Nigeria cannot rely solely on firearms to resolve insecurity, stressing that poverty, unemployment, and the neglect of rural areas lie at the heart of banditry.
Speaking at the public presentation of Where I Stand, a book by the late Sheikh Abubakar Mahmud Gumi translated into Arabic by Sheikh Ibrahim Jalo Jalingo, the governor warned against deceiving the people with claims that force alone could work.
“Insecurity can’t be resolved solely through the use of firearms. Whoever makes such a claim is only playing politics. We must fear God, and stop deceiving the people because that approach will not work,” Sani said.
He noted that while Nigeria had about 300,000 soldiers in 1970 after the civil war, the number has dropped to less than 250,000 despite a population increase of over 100 million.
“How then can anyone say that guns alone will solve the problem? It is impossible,” he added.
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The governor lamented that vast areas in the North West lack security presence, with some routes stretching 50 kilometres without a single officer in sight.
He highlighted the Kaduna Peace Model, which brings together traditional and religious leaders with communities, as a better approach.
“We discovered that poverty, unemployment, lack of schools, hospitals, and commerce in rural areas pushed people into crime,” he explained.
Sani said leaders must take responsibility rather than shifting blame. “We were elected by the people, and it is our duty to do everything possible to protect our people.
“I decided to embark on the non-kinetic approach to address insecurity in Kaduna State because it’s me that God will hold responsible in the hereafter,” he said.
His remarks come amid ongoing debate on whether negotiation or force is the best way to address insecurity in Nigeria.