By Abdallah el-Kurebe
Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto, has advocated for a special provision in the constitution for increased funding for security agencies in the country, without recourse to appropriation.
The governor, who was with his Zamfara state counterpart, Bello Muhammad, as a special guest at the Nigerian Army Special Army Super Camp 4 at Faskari, Katsina, also called for the provision of sophisticated weapons for the military.
“There is need for proper and structured funding of the army and other security agencies in the country to enable them procure superior weapons to that of their adversaries,. You need funding. Funding is key to combating insecurity in any country.
“There should be a special security funding not only that derived from routine appropriations,” the governor noted.
He emphasized that, “Any constitutional means of getting funding for the army and other security agencies” should be explored.
He commended President Muhammadu Buhari for directing effort to establish the Army Super Camp, further noting that if more equipment could be marshalled for the Army, more resounding successes would be achieved.
He also gave kudos to the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, for doing a great deal in ensuring that the operations of the Camp, is seamless and “Sokoto has recorded more peace, which is an opposite of the weeks preceding the operation of Ex Sahel Safety.”
He explained that now farmers and villagers who left their farms when banditry was raging are now back and villagers. The South-Eastern part of the state, the governor submitted, “is witnessing a return to normalcy.”
On the efforts made by the Northern governors to complement those of the security agencies, the governor said agreed to pursue carrot and stick approach. “We in Sokoto state are still continuing with the non-kinetic measure. No matter how long it takes in a battle, you must come back to the round table. So, why wait until issues escalate?
“The kinetic and non-kinetic process are simultaneously going on in Sokoto,” he explained, adding that the Northern governors are trying to reform existing laws to punish kidnappers and other perpetrators of crimes associated with banditry.
