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The Katsina Elders’ Forum has called on President Bola Tinubu to adopt and implement strategies to end insecurity in the nation.
The KEF also urged him to reshuffle his cabinet.
The elders noted that as a matter of urgency and necessity, the Tinubu-led Federal Government must introduce the 'jungle battalions' to curb the menace of insecurity.
The forum made this call during a press conference in Katsina yesterday.
Speaking on ways to combat insecurity, the Chairman of the Forum, Habibu Saulawa, said that a significant number of soldiers must be deployed to the forests to fight the hoodlums and restore the peace of the region.
Saulawa, who spoke through the Forum’s Secretary, Ali Mohammed, listed the group’s major concerns to include the growing insecurity and poverty plaguing the state as well as the alleged LGBT Agreement recently signed by the Federal Government.
He stated: “The cost of food items is rising by the day, everything is expensive, and the Northerners cannot afford three square meals.
"This is very serious, and we are advising the Federal Government, through President Bola Tinubu to attend to these myriad of problems plaguing the country.
“If his cabinet members are not advising him well, he should drop them and bring people with good ideas that will help him run his government the way Nigerians will be happy,” Ali stated.
Speaking further on Nigeria’s security situation, the Forum Chair described the situation as “unfortunate,” saying, “if our soldiers can go elsewhere in other countries to perform miracles and restore peace, why not in the Northern part of the country? Look at what Niger Republic, Cameroon, and Chad did recently. They killed several hundreds of bandits and seized thousands of their weapons.
“Our soldiers are more intelligent, proactive, determined, and more sophisticated than all those soldiers. What are our soldiers doing? Who is behind this? Who is against the North? Please, we want an explanation, otherwise we are calling on the Federal Government to come up with immediate measures. Let them introduce jungle battalions, put these soldiers in the forests, let them remain there and fight the bandits.
“The bandits are everywhere, and they are known. They know where they are. We are calling on the President to please save Katsina State and the North for goodness sake.”
He said the KEF, on behalf of the citizens, also objected to the LGBT agreement allegedly signed by the Minister of Budget, Atiku Bagudu, recently, on behalf of the Federal Government.
Ali stressed, “We are begging Mr. President to please, reverse with immediate effect, if truly they have gone ahead to sign the LGBT agreement. Katsina State is out of it, and we are ready to do anything and to go everywhere to distance ourselves from the agreement. We are sending this message to the Federal Government that Katsina State people are not in support of the LGBT.
“We as Muslims and Christians believe that the religions are against LGBT and same-sex marriage. We are begging the Federal Government to reverse these decisions with immediate effect."
