A former senator who represented Kaduna Central, Shehu Sani, has stated that victory over terrorists is as important as unity, peace, and survival of the Nigerian state.
He urged the Federal Government to change its approach towards handling terrorists, rather than focusing on a security summit.
Sani shared his thoughts during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today.
He lamented that Nigeria has been faced with a war against banditry and terrorism for over a decade, adding that there is a need for improvement in the techniques used to handle the situation.
Amid the rising level of insecurity in the country, especially in the northern part of the country where scores of lives have been lost, homes destroyed, and many displaced, the Senate had on Tuesday resolved to establish an ad hoc committee tasked with organising a two‑day national security summit in Abuja.
The summit is expected to include federal, state, and local governments, as well as traditional institutions, and stakeholders in the sector to develop viable solutions to the country’s persistent insecurity challenges.
However, Sani said, “For us, we have talked too much about insecurity. What is needed for us is to step up our action, because our action as a government and as a nation has not been able to exterminate the activities of bandits and terrorists in our country.
“We have had so many talks, summits and conferences about security and what is needed now is more action and we have seen, in the last one and a half decade, how terrorist in the northern part of Nigeria, up till this very time, are unleashing mayhem and havoc on innocent people, burning down villages, kidnapping people and extorting for ransom.
“Each time you thought that they had been exterminated, in a few days, you would see them coming out more boldly and daring. So, we have had enough talks.”
The former lawmaker further said that the war was not just between Nigeria and the terrorists but also a battle being fought by other nations in the sub-region, including the Republic Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso.
