I have no Time to Preach to Bandits, Says Governor El-Rufai

- Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna has practical solutions to the constant farmer-herder in the state

- The governor said his government is implementing a big ranching project that will help herdsmen reside in one place instead of taking their cattle to farmlands

- El-Rufai said he has no business preaching to criminals who wreak havoc in the state

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For Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna state, preaching to criminals is not part of the job description of a governor.

Governor El-Rufai made this clear on Tuesday, March 16, during the state security council at the Council Chambers of Sir Kashim Ibrahim House, The Nation reports.

The governor maintained that he will not fail in his primary tasks of protecting the lives and properties o citizens in his state and prosecuting criminals who terrorise innocent persons.

El-Rufai noted:

“We will not engage with bandits or kidnappers. Private citizens like clerics and clergymen can do so in their individual capacities, to preach to them and ask them to repent. We also want them to repent but it is not our job to ask them to do so.’’

Suggesting a solution for the herder-farmer crisis in Kaduna, the governor opined that the best way forward is for cattle rearers to be more sedentary in their business in order for them to record greater productivity.

He argued that the nomadic lifestyle is now old-fashioned as it has been replaced with technology and urbanisation.

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The Kaduna governor disclosed that his administration is working on a massive ranching project in Damau Grazing Reserve in Kubau local government.

El-Rufai said the project will make the herdsmen reside in particular places where pastures will be made available for their cattle and a market venue for milk, including a primary healthcare centre.

According to The Cable, the governor believes that this way, the herders will be able to get better access to education for their children.

Meanwhile, a lawmaker representing Kaduna Central at the Senate, Uba Sani had urged the people of the state to lend their full weight behind El-Rufai's war against banditry, kidnapping, armed robbery, and allied crimes.

Legit.ng's regional reporter in Kaduna, Nasir Dambatta, reports that the lawmaker explained that the El-Rufai administration has since moved from agonizing over the incessant attacks on communities to an 'all-out assault on criminal elements' with a determination to win the war.

Onyirioha Nnamdi is a graduate of Literature and English Language at the University of Lagos. He is a Politics/Current Affairs Editor who writes on news and political topics for Legit.ng. He brings into his reporting a wealth of experience in creative and analytical writing. Nnamdi has a major interest in local and global politics.

Source: Legit.ng