- By Zayyad I. Muhamma
Sir: At its 8th meeting held in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, on September 9, the Northeast Governors Forum expressed its concern about the new dimension of growing banditry in Bauchi, Gombe, and Taraba states. The governors called on the federal government to intervene. Among the six states in the northeast, Adamawa State would seem to be the exception. It is doing well in the area of internal security.
The Adamawa State government employed three approaches. First, the Umaru Fintiri-led government looked at the areas affected by Boko Haram’s insurgency, and then developed post-war programmes with a comprehensive implementation strategy to fast-track the healing of the war’s scars. The government restored basic infrastructure and local economies, returning the affected communities to their peaceful and productive pre-war status. A simple example is the bubbling economic activities in townships like Mubi, Michika, and Madagali. Secondly, after the restoration of basic infrastructure and integration of the lives and livelihoods of the people, the government employed a quick rehabilitation of agricultural lands, places of worship, health centres, bridges, and schools, including the creation of productive employment for the teeming unemployed citizens, especially young people and women.
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Over the years, developmental efforts in many states laid emphasis on urban development at the expense of rural development, which has led to a substantial rise in inequality among Nigerians—inequalities beget insecurity. What the Fintiri-led government did was balance urbanisation and rural areas’ needs. While Adamawa State’s capital, Yola, is being transformed into a working city that accommodates all segments of society and provides basic and modern infrastructure, other local governments are getting what they ought to have in the areas of agriculture, basic electricity, healthcare, and human development. What the government did was equate each community’s basic infrastructure needs with youth employment needs to curtail crime.
For example, when the notorious Shila Boys re-emerged, the Fintiri government used a soft and hard approach: the government provided young people with cash grants, loans, and training on new skills through the Poverty Alleviation and Wealth Creation Agency (PAWECA) and the Adamawa State Social Support Programme (ADSSSP). Those who refused to change their ways were dealt with the hard way by law enforcement agents.
There is a theory that says no one can experience perfect security because individuals or states are not perfectly secure or completely insecure, but the Fintiri model of community engagement, local people’s parley, and provision of basic needs has helped Adamawa State curtail farmer-herder conflicts, ensure peaceful co-existence and banish youth restlessness, within the state. The Fintiri model of internal security management is working; other states in the northeast sub-region can copy it.
•Zayyad I. Muhammad,
Abuja.