Nigeria is one of the countries with highest threats of terrorism globally, the country also ranks second worldwide in the number of deaths related to terrorism with 61, 261 persons killed in 11 years across seven states.
A security expert, Malam Suleiman Yusuf, who disclosed this in Kaduna said 61,261 people were killed in Boko Haram terrorists related acts between 2011 and 2022 in these states; Borno (35,646), Zamfara (5,747), Kaduna (5,462), Adamawa (4,097), Benue (3,774), Plateau (3,359) and Yobe (3,176). He tasked the federal government and other stakeholders to find a lasting solution to security challenges in the country which he feared could split the country.
Addressing the ActionAid Nigeria SARVE III Policy Dialogue on Youth Development and the Prevention of Violent Extremism in Kaduna Thursday, Yusuf said: “Inequality, unemployment, poverty, social exclusion, health, governance and grievances are some factors that push people into violent extremism, while factors such as ego, financial gains, peer group, charismatic leaders, pull people into it.
“People are getting scared, people are scared of traveling and losing hope with insecurity, it could lead to them achieving their hope of splitting Nigeria. The bandits are in Nigerian territories and there are issues with that. They make phone calls and the government knows where they are, but the government is afraid of going there because they don’t know where their master is. The likely solution to these challenges is that we must have good governance.
“We should separate politics from insecurity, government must be just to everyone regardless of their class, we must invest in education for all to ensure that people are properly educated with skills and knowledge, we must make education free and compulsory, even those that cannot afford it must go to school. The government also needs to monitor religious institutions.”
