‘We’ve not reached that point’ — Jigawa governor rejects TY Danjuma’s call for self-defence

Umar Namadi, governor of Jigawa state, says Nigeria has not reached the point where citizens should resort to self-defence.

The governor spoke on Monday when he featured on ‘Sunrise Daily’, a programme on Channels Television.

On Saturday, Theophilus Danjuma, the former minister of defence, asked Nigerians to take up the personal responsibility for their safety.

Danjuma said recent incidents of kidnapping and violent attacks have further demonstrated that the government cannot be solely relied upon to protect citizens.

“We have experienced kidnapping, the threat of kidnapping will continue until we, every one of us, rise up and defend ourselves,” he said.

“It is quite clear the government alone cannot do it. I have warned a very long time ago, in a speech in Wukari, that our people must be prepared to defend themselves.”

However, Namadi warned that allowing Nigerians to bear arms in defence would lead to anarchy.

“He (Danjuma) is a very senior security person, and should be respected,” he said.

“But if he says that citizens should be allowed to defend themselves, I think you are causing anarchy. His words need to be analysed carefully.”

The governor insisted that alternative solutions, like dialogue and engagement, are more effective than taking up arms.

Citing the farmer-herder conflict in Jigawa, Namadi said his administration resolved the crisis through dialogue and involvement of traditional rulers.

“Like I said, what we did in Jigawa, if we allowed the people to defend themselves, that means you’re causing crisis between farmers and herders,” he said.

“But when we came in, we deployed a lot of strategies, including dialogue and trying as much as possible to engage traditional rulers and (stakeholders) from both farmers and herders side.”

Namadi said the intervention led to the formation of a committee to reconcile the parties involved in the crisis.

The governor added that the peace initiative has enabled farmers and herders to “work together, interact together and live their normal lives together”.

“So, I think the government is doing its best — both at federal and different state levels. The issue of asking people to defend themselves… I think we have not reached that level yet,” he added.