Nigeria’s Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar says increasing banditry and criminality are slowly destroying the country.
Besides, the Wazirin Adamawa decried the spate of insecurity in the country, saying Nigeria needs urgent restructuring if the desired socio-economic development must be achieved.
He described banditry and kidnapping as a major industry in Nigeria, warning; “We needed to fix Nigeria to avoid sleep-walking our way towards disaster.”
Speaking at the national dialogue and public presentation of a book, “Remaking Nigeria: Sixty years, sixty voices” at the Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja, Atiku mocked that with the way things are going it won’t be surprising if bandits and kidnappers approach the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) for registration while also seeking to be listed at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).
According to him, criminals, especially bandits, are now operating “so openly and brazenly that it would surprise no one if they applied for registration with the Corporate Affairs Commission and listing on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.”
“Yes, the Chibok girls had been kidnapped and held in captivity 7 years ago. Yes, conflicts between herders and farmers had been with us before 2016.
“But who would have thought that our country would become a haven for kidnappers and all manner of bandits to the extent that their nefarious activities would become a major industry?”, Nigeria’s former number two man queried
According to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate in the 2019 general elections, criminals, especially bandits, are now operating “so openly and brazenly that it would surprise no one if they applied for registration with the Corporate Affairs Commission and listing on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.”
Hammering on the insecurity that has pervaded the country, Atiku said; “Five years ago, the Abuja – Kaduna Road was not a virtual no-go area. The South-East was not a virtual war zone, and Amotekun was not needed to protect lives and property in the South West.
“These are among the clearest evidence that the issues that were the focal point of the book that brought us here more than five years ago have become even worse.”
He maintained that restructuring is now a must in order to hasten development and encourage all areas of the country to develop at their pace.
