Professor Usman Yusuf, a former CEO of the National Health Insurance Scheme, has highlighted the insufficiency of depending exclusively on military operations to address issues related to insecurity. He asserts that, in the absence of justice, even a million Tucano jets cannot guarantee security. He concluded that poverty, which affects 65% of the population in the North (or over 83 million people), is the main cause of instability in the region. He also cited worrying figures, citing 20 million children who are not in school, the majority of whom are in the North, and expressed concerns about ongoing corruption and the flow of armaments from Niger. CONTINUE FULL READING>>>>>
Describing the situation as a time bomb, he stressed that neglecting these social problems could lead to an explosion of insecurity.
He said in an interview with Daily Trust TV, ”A million Tucano jets cannot bring security to a place where there is no justice. We know the drivers of insecurity in the North. If I hadn’t gone to school, probably I would have been a bandit the way things are today. Our biggest problem in the North today is poverty. The North has 65% about 83 million of the 130 million people in Multi-dimensional poverty. We have 20 million out of school children, a vast majority of them are in the North. You have out-of-school children, you have poverty, you have continuing corruption, you have arms coming across from Niger. What do you expect?
It’s a time bomb that will explode if we do not take care of these social problems. But what the government is doing is kinetic. If we are realistic, kinetic is only about 10%, and 90% is taking care of these social issues. Look at the budget, 1.3 trillion for the military and then 800 billion for the army and police. And then the National Security Adviser office is up to 200 billion. Our priorities are messed up. If we do not take care of social issues, insecurity will increase and you will keep on investing on military hardware.” CONTINUE FULL READING>>>>>
