The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has issued a stern rebuke of President Bola Tinubu’s administration, describing the reported extortion of over N56 million from farmers in Zamfara State by armed bandits as a “national danger” and a tragic failure of governance.
In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi the party said the video in circulation of “an entire village in Ifelodun Local Government of Kwara State, completely abandoned to bandits under Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC) shows that Nigeria is sliding into a dangerous phase of state failure.”
“A situation where people had to abandon an entire town to bandits, in the very heart of the country, is not just a local challenge but an evidence of national surrender,” Abdullahi said.
He stated that when armed gangs can collect N56 million from farmers for the “right” to plant food, the matter goes beyond insecurity.
“It is about criminal elements contesting the right to govern a part of Nigeria and when criminals can tax citizens at gunpoint, it means the state has surrendered its monopoly of force and state authority is in retreat.”
Abdullahi expressed dismay that such could be happening in a country with one of the largest defence budgets in Africa, noting that farmers are being left to bargain with warlords for survival.
He recalled that only a few days ago, about 50 people were abducted in Zamfara State in one swoop.
He described the situation as “the eerie picture of an entire town where all the people, the young, the old and the infirm had to seek refuge elsewhere for fear of bandits attacks.”
He added that “there are other cases which shows a very alarming pattern suggesting that other parts of the country considered safe may not be so for long.”
“The pertinent question therefore is whether the Tinubu-led APC government is still in charge and can still be trusted to do its most fundamental duty, which is to protect the lives and properties of Nigerians,” he said.
The ADC recalled that in November 2014, President Bola Tinubu, then leader of the opposition, had urged President Goodluck Jonathan to resign over Boko Haram attacks in the North-East.
“If you control the armed forces and you are the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic, why should any part of this country be under occupation? And you give us excuses every day. In any civilized country Jonathan should have resigned,” Tinubu had said.
“Although the security situation that President Tinubu was using to campaign in 2014 had multiplied exponentially under his party and is currently enjoying great prosperity under his direct watch, no one is calling on him to resign,” Abdullahi stated.
“The ADC does not want President Tinubu to resign, we only ask him to do his job. We also asked why did the President think that the security situation in Rivers State warranted the declaration of state of emergency, but the one in Zamfara with industrial scale kidnapping and a direct challenge to the authority of the Nigerian State by way of bandit tax does not even deserve a direct comment from him?”
“If the Tinubu administration cannot guarantee the safety of our farms and farming communities, if people could be forced to abandon their homes out of fear, then it has failed in its most basic responsibility.
“You cannot boast that you are in charge of your country while your citizens are negotiating their survival with criminals,” Abdullahi added.
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