Kaduna State Governor, Senator Uba Sani, has faulted the use of kinetic approach to insecurity, insisting that firearms alone cannot resolve insecurity.

The governor stated this at public presentation of ‘’Where I Stand’’, a book written by the late Sheikh Abubakar Mahmud Gumi, which was translated by Sheikh Ibrahim Jalo Jalingo into Arabic.


Speaking, Sani argued that the insecurity in the North West is unlike the Boko Haram insurgency in the North East, which is ideologically-driven, adding that poverty, unemployment and neglect of rural communities are at the heart of banditry.


He pointed out that “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.”

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The governor added that Nigeria’s security manpower has reduced despite the country’s massive population growth in the last 45 years.

“In 1970 after the civil war, Nigeria had about 300,000 soldiers, but today they are less than 250,000 while our population has increased by over 100 million. How then can anyone say that guns alone will solve the problem? It is impossible,” he stressed.

He lamented the absence of security presence in large parts of the Northwest, saying ‘’if you travel to Zamfara, Birnin Gwari, or the forests of Katsina, you can go for about 50 kilometers without meeting a single policeman, not to talk of a soldier. We have vast areas in this country without any security personnel.”

According to him, the Kaduna Peace Model which emphasises non-kinetic approach to tackling insecurity, was initiated by the affected communities, involving traditional, religious leaders and other stakeholders.

Citing the case of Birnin Gwari, the Governor disclosed that the Emir spearheaded the return of peace in the area, adding that ‘’we spent six months trying to understand the root causes of insecurity.’’

Governor Uba Sani who said that ‘’we discovered that poverty, unemployment, lack of schools, hospitals, and commerce in rural areas pushed people into crime,’’ insisted that leaders must take responsibility.

“We should not deceive our people by saying President Tinubu or National Security Adviser Ribadu is responsible. We should not expect them to go to Giwa, Birnin Gwari or Dansadau forest to solve the problem for us.

“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 added.

However, this reaction is coming days after Malam Nasir El-Rufa’i, a former governor of Kaduna State, critised negotiating with bandits and other aspects of the non-kinetic approach to tackling insecurity.

Speaking in an interview with Channels Television, the former governor said, “I still maintain my earlier stance in dealing with these bandits. Kill them all. Reduce them to nothing. I’m a no-nonsense person. You don’t pamper terrorists by saying you are negotiating with them. It has never worked anywhere.”

“What this government is doing, is that they have succeeded in suppressing the media not to report insecurity issues. The present security challenges, particularly in my State (Kaduna) is more than what we had in the past.”

El-Rufai also claimed that the insecurity ravaging the North was higher than how it was before Tinubu-led federal government came on board, accusing the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) of coordinating ransom payments to bandits to free kidnap victims.

But the NSA, Nuhu Ribadu, had had dismissed the claim, saying at no time has the ONSA, or any arm of government under Tinubu’s administration engaged in ransom payments or inducements to criminals.