The Arewa Think Tank, a Northern group, has expressed excitement over President Bola Tinubu’s directive to the military to end banditry in 2025.
The group’s convener, Muhammad Yakubu, said the President’s order is a welcome development that has rekindled hope in the current administration’s ability to tackle insecurity.
According to Yakubu, the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Mohammed Matawalle, had disclosed that Tinubu had directed the military to ensure that banditry is brought to an end by next year.
“We are happy to hear that Matawalle told All Progressives Congress (APC) members at his Gusau residence about the directive from Tinubu and assured that the military would do everything to comply with the President’s directive,” Yakubu said in a statement issued in Kaduna on Monday.
The ATT convener described the President’s directive as a testament to his commitment to ending the scourge of banditry, kidnapping, and general insecurity in the country.
Yakubu also commended the President for not playing politics with the issue of insecurity, noting that the directive to the military is a clear indication of his determination to tackle the problem head-on.
“This is even coming at the time Mr. President has taken another bold step to ending this monster called banditry, kidnapping, and general insecurities by allocating the largest share of the 2025 budget to defence. We say kudos to him
“We believe that the Federal Government will make the necessary arrangements to deploy more troops and military equipment to troubled areas in the North-West zone and any other parts of the country,” he said.
However, the ATT convener warned that the success of the President’s directive depends on the ability of the military to tackle the issue of informants who aid the bandits.
“We are calling on the Federal Government and the military chiefs to tackle the issue of informants aiding the bandits so that President Tinubu’s directive will not be in vain because the major challenge,, for now is to win the war against bandits across the country,” he said.
Yakubu also warned politicians against mixing politics with security issues, noting that such actions can discourage the military from performing their duties.
“We want to believe that the informants are members of the communities who are selling their conscience to the devil for the sake of money. And we are also warning politicians to desist from mixing politics with security issues in such a manner that will discourage our military from protecting the nation and the people,” he said.
The ATT convener expressed optimism that the President’s directive will yield positive results, noting that Nigerians should be patient and give the President up to two years to fulfill his promises.
“Again, our joy is that the appeal we have been making to Nigerians to give President Tinubu up to two years in office before they can begin to criticize him is yielding good results because from all indications, by the time he clocks two years, Nigerians may have no option than to commend him for a job well done,” he added.
