Jigawa Governor Kick Against TY Danjuma’s Call For Self-Defence

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – Umar Namadi, governor of Jigawa state, has stated that Nigeria has not gotten to the point where citizens should resort to self-defence.

Namadi stated this on Monday when he appeared on ‘Sunrise Daily’, a programme on Channels Television.

The African Examiner writes that On Saturday, Theophilus Danjuma, the former minister of defence, tasked Nigerians to take up arms and protect themselves.

Danjuma stated that the recent incidents of abduction and violent attacks have further shown that the government cannot be solely relied upon to protect citizens.

“We have experienced kidnapping, the threat of kidnapping will continue until we, every one of us, rise up and defend ourselves,” he said.

“It is quite clear the government alone cannot do it. I have warned a very long time ago, in a speech in Wukari, that our people must be prepared to defend themselves.”

Reacting, Namadi cautioned that allowing Nigerians to carry arms in defence would lead to anarchy.

“He (Danjuma) is a very senior security person, and should be respected,” he said.

“But if he says that citizens should be allowed to defend themselves, I think you are causing anarchy. His words need to be analysed carefully.”

The governor stated that alternative solutions, like dialogue and engagement will be more effective than taking up arms.

“Like I said, what we did in Jigawa, if we allowed the people to defend themselves, that means you’re causing a crisis between farmers and herders,” he said.

“But when we came in, we deployed a lot of strategies, including dialogue and trying as much as possible to engage traditional rulers and (stakeholders) from both farmers and herders side.”

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