Bukola Saraki, former President of the Senate, on Thursday, November 19, lamented the current spate of kidnappings and banditry in the country while making recommendations to President Muhammadu Buhari on how to tackle the issue of insecurity ravaging the nation.
Saraki made this call in response to the kidnapping of 12 police officers by suspected bandits along the Katsina-Zamfara expressway.
He called on the president to tap into Nigeria’s brightest and most experienced minds in order to curb the rising cases of insecurity, especially in the area of banditry and kidnappings.
The officers, who are assistant superintendents of police, were kidnapped ten days ago, according to a BBC report.
In a series of tweets via his verified Twitter handle, @bukolasaraki; Saraki urged Buhari to engage former presidents, retired officers in curbing the issue of kidnapping in the country.
He urged the president to urgently call for help for the menace of kidnapping in Nigeria.
“The kidnapping issue is not a problem for President Buhari alone. It is a problem confronting and threatening all Nigerians.
“I am convinced that this is a problem for all of us, and as such, I advise Mr. President to urgently call for help from all and sundry. All hands must be on deck. If we don’t address the problem of kidnapping urgently it will engulf the entire nation.
“In this country, we have brilliant, serving, and retired intelligence officers. We have experienced serving and retired military and other security officers who have had some of the best training available in the world in dealing with this type of problem.
“From my own perspective, wherever the idea is coming from – be it from a retired security officer, an opposition leader, or even a foreign country – what is important at this juncture is to put an end to this national menace.
“I am sure that if all these people are ‘locked’ up in one room together and with the abundant talents and resources that will be available to tap into, they will most certainly produce a workable, action plan that can immediately be implemented to solve the kidnapping problem.
“This national emergency is threatening the very existence of our country. We cannot leave it to the government alone as if it is solely Buhari’s problem. It is not. We have left it for too long.
“This is a problem that was initially limited to one part of the country. However, it has long since spread across the country.
“The problem of kidnapping is not only threatening the peace of the country. It is creating food insecurity and constraining people’s means of livelihood, particularly in the rural areas where 70 percent of the food produced in this country comes from.
“As somebody once said, it is not just enough to pray for victims. No, we must find a permanent solution that will prevent any reoccurrences,” Saraki explained.
