Stakeholders in five states of the federation have urged the federal government to tighten security at the borders toward stopping the inflow of illegal arms into the country.
The stakeholders, comprising farmers, herders, religious and ethnic community leaders drawn from Kaduna, Katsina, Sokoto, Zamfara and Niger states, made the call at the end of a 2-day sensitisation parley organised by the Office of the United Nations on Prevention of Genocide and the Responsibility to Protect in Kaduna.
The five participating states have been under bandits’ attacks which have led to loss of many lives and property.
Speaking at the event, Chairman of the Farmers and Herders Initiative for Peace and Development (FHIPD), Alhaji Salim Musa Umar, urged pastoralists and farming communities to embrace education in order to liberate themselves from the security challenges bedevilling the northwestern states.
He said the community engagements were designed using the bottom-up approach to hear the yearnings and aspirations of communities at the lowest levels, with a view to complimenting what government and relevant security agencies are doing in curtailing the current worrisome security challenges.
The stakeholders called on government to focus more on education of its citizens and lamented the high prevalence of drug use among youths.
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