A former Governor of Sokoto State, Attahiru Dalhatu Bafarawa, has alleged that governors have been cashing on the growing spate of insecurity across Nigeria to inflate their security votes.
Bafarawa said this while corroborating the recent claim by the Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ibrahim Magu, that governors have used insecurity to get more money for their private use.
Bafarawa spoke in Abuja, at a press conference ahead of the National Security and Peace Development Summit by his Foundation.
He lamented that as violent crime claims the lives of so many youth and communities, the country on the whole is robbed of much of its human and economic potential.
Bafarawa said: “These neighbourhoods and communities have higher rates of poverty, unemployment, lower educational attainment, low social capital, poor housing stock, and low levels of investment in public spaces.
“Inequality and relative poverty provide a fertile ground for crime; and in turn, high levels of crime and violence interfere with human, social and economic development.
“The security situation, ineffective security governance and social development arrangements undermine Nigerian’s ability to establish and maintain a viable economy that can sustain acceptable levels of wellbeing for the majority of its citizens, particularly the young and vulnerable.
“I hope that the findings and resolution of the forthcoming National Security and Peace Development Summit powered by our Foundation will contribute to ongoing efforts by both the Federal, State Governments and community groups to address the recurrent violence.
“This platform for sharing ideas and recommendations will also hopefully help bridge the gap between research and policy by making knowledge available to those charged with making change happen,” he added.
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