The Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, has faulted the recent comment by his Kaduna State counterpart, Nasir El-Rufai, on the security situation in the North-West region.
El-Rufai had stated on the BBC Hausa Service that lack of synergy among governors of the North-West was hampering security efforts in the region.
However, speaking on Radio France International and monitored in Kano on Thursday by our correspondent, Ganduje said El-Rufai might not understand the security efforts put in place by the governors of the area.
According to Ganduje, security agencies in the country have advised Kano, Kaduna and Bauchi states to collaborate and check the security challenges in the notorious Falgore forest in the Tudun Wada and Doguwa local government areas of Kano State.
The governor stated, “The issue of lack of synergy does not arise in this context, because security agencies have advised us to come and meet with Kano, Kaduna and Bauchi states to see how the activities of bandits in the Falgore forest can be contained.
“I intimated both governors of Kaduna and Bauchi. Both have sent their delegations.
“There was the issue of funds. Kano, Kaduna and Bauchi states have all donated their funds and the exercise was eventually successful.
“The way I see it, the governor (El-Rufai) did not understand security issues well because the security situation depends on the nature of a state. For instance, no matter how we strongly collaborate as governors, how should we check ethnic clashes in Kaduna? How should we check religious differences in Kaduna? You see, this is a problem that can only be checked by the Kaduna State Government itself.
“Therefore, any security issue in a state depends on the efforts of the state government, the Federal Government, the security agencies and the people of the state.
“For instance, in Kano, we have a harmonious working relationship with security agencies. We have state-of-the-art security gadgets. In the Dansoshiya forest, we are building houses to accommodate Fulani herders in a bid to stop them from grazing in the southern parts of the country.
“In the Falgore forest, there is an ongoing project of a military training camp. In the project, there is a provision for areas where Fulani herders will be accommodated. We, therefore, have this plan long ago.”
Ganduje added, “We have enough places to accommodate Fulani herders in the Dansoshiya and Falgore forests. To restrict them to those places in order to prevent them from grazing in the southern part of the country is the only panacea for the lingering crises.
“There are three categories of Fulani. There are Fulani, there are herders and there are foreign Fulani herders, who commit crimes.
“It is often forgotten that there are foreigners among those Fulani herders, but nobody is talking about them. The moment a foreign Fulani herder infiltrated Nigeria and commits a crime, he will be considered a Nigerian Fulani. Therefore, it is high time to ban them from entering Nigeria.”