Former Governor of Kano State, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has expressed concern over the deteriorating security situation in Nigeria, especially in the Northern region.
In an interview with the Hausa Service of the BBC on Tuesday, Kwankwaso, a former Minister of Defence, said allowing the situation to linger without being checked is the reason why it is now taking another dimension.
He lamented that the situation in Nigeria was “appalling”, adding that he had never expected things to take such downward turn.
“”The issue at stake now isn’t about the president; from what we know it’s until everything is done that he’ll be informed; though now everything is changed.
“The basic cause of the current mess can be classified, first being the mistakes that the president has made that have worsened the situation because as a president, he should carry everybody along, including those who didn’t help him in any way. And once you’re a leader and you’re sworn in, you shouldn’t be sidelining and isolating people that you like and don’t like.”
Kwankwaso asked Nigerians to work together to assist the President and security forces in overcoming the problem, urging, “let’s coordinate ourselves and see what can be done to overcome the problem.”
Asked how he felt about the role of the Nigerian security forces, Kwankwaso said: “The big amazement is when one hears that someone has been killed, but nothing could be done… And always these armed gangsters are making more money, weaponry and they are triumphant, and in some places we hear that they are even taxing locals.
“In a country like Nigeria, with the army and the air force; and in this century there’d be some folks that are not literate in both Western and Arabic education, and yet they have the audacity and temerity to seize some part of Nigeria and they’re not dealt with and are being watched without taking any decisive action. What is happening?”