By Fikayo Adetayo
Former Lagos State governor and chieftain of the All Progressive Congress ( APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has cautioned the Federal Government against using deadly force against Boko Haram insurgents and other terrorists masquerading as bandits.
He said security authorities must know that brutal force alone cannot solve the myriad of security challenges facing the country but other soft tactics must be employed to rescue the country from terrorism and other activities of criminals.
Tinubu made the call yesterday in Kaduna as he chaired the 2021 Sadauna Memorial Lecture, held at the Arewa House, Kaduna.
He said violent crimes can only be solved through economic means.
“Like I said in my recent statement on the pressing issue of the herder and farmer dispute, we must appreciate that martial security measures alone will not suffice, problems that are essentially of an economic origin must also have an economic solution,” Tinubu said.
The insurgency in the north east, banditry, kidnapping and herders clashes have rendered Nigeria on its kneels with the president, Muhammadu Buhari doing very little or nothing to end it.
There have been suggestions that the President is slow to act because many of the terrorists are from his religion and tribe, a statement presidential aides have denied.
Tinubu: “Enhanced security may be the necessary first step, but it cannot be the only step. We cannot resolve this problem by holding on to one-dimensional answers. We must all be dispassionate in our search for solutions. These challenges are multi-faceted and so shall the solutions must be.”
Tinubu is known to be interested standing for President in the 2023 general elections. Even though he is yet to publicly announce , he is already making widespread consultations especially in the north where he has also been making monetary donations to special interest groups.
