By Abdulrasheed Buhari Yandi
As a concerned indigene of Zamfara State, I extend my heartfelt condolences to families of those killed, abducted and displaced by persistent insecurity ravaging the state.
The reported tragedies in Bukkuyum, Gwashi, Maru, Dansadau and Bindi in Bungudu LGA, where over 150 people were reportedly killed or abducted, are painful reminders of a crisis that demands urgent attention.
Communities are being attacked, livelihoods destroyed and citizens are living in fear. Today, bandits reportedly exercise control over some communities where residents are forced to pay illegal levies to survive. Major highways, including Gusau–Dansadau and Mayanchi–Anka–Gummi roads, have become death traps, restricting movement, trade and economic activities.
The recent incident involving the Deputy Governor in Gwashi further highlights the severity of the crisis and the urgent need for a comprehensive response.
My question to Governor Dauda Lawal is direct: You have repeatedly said you will not negotiate with bandits. Many may agree that refusing to negotiate can be part of a strategy. But what effective measures are you taking to protect lives and property?
You cannot refuse to negotiate without demonstrating an alternative strategy to protect the people. Refusing to negotiate is only half of a strategy. The other half — the essential half — is decisive action to neutralise the bandits and reclaim communities.
A refusal to negotiate is not a policy on its own. It becomes a policy only when paired with an alternative that delivers safety. That alternative is missing. You have refused to talk to bandits, yet you have failed to stop them. That is not strength. That is a vacuum. And in that vacuum, our people are dying.
If you will not negotiate, then you must overwhelm the bandits with superior force, credible intelligence, community defence, highway security, rapid response and effective coordination with federal security agencies.
Where is the comprehensive security plan to reclaim communities, secure highways and restore confidence? Where are the operations? Where are the results?
Refusing to negotiate loudly while failing to protect effectively is not a strategy. It is a slogan. And a slogan cannot stop a bullet, rescue a hostage or secure a highway.
I am not asking the Governor to negotiate with bandits. I am asking him to protect the people.
I therefore call on Governor Lawal to publish a clear security plan for Zamfara including: securing Gusau–Dansadau and Mayanchi–Anka–Gummi roads; restoring community defence and intelligence gathering; effective coordination with federal security agencies; transparent accounting for security spending; and providing emergency relief to displaced communities.
Your refusal to negotiate means nothing to a mother who buried her child in Bukkuyum. Your declarations mean nothing to the community in Bungudu that pays levies to criminals to survive. The only thing that matters is whether government can protect them — and so far, the answer is no.
The people of Zamfara did not vote for slogans or press statements. They voted for protection, security and leadership.
Governor Lawal, you have refused to negotiate. That is your right. But you have also failed to protect. That is your failure. A leader who says “I will not negotiate” but cannot say “I will protect you” has offered the people nothing.
Until the refusal to negotiate is matched with decisive action to protect lives, the policy remains incomplete and the people will continue to suffer.
The time for excuses is over. Zamfara deserves security, accountability and responsible leadership.
Yandi is a public affairs analyst based in Gusau.