Alhaji Ibrahim Katsina, Special Adviser on Security to the Governor of Katsina State, has called for collective efforts to end insecurity in the state.
Katsina stated this during a town hall meeting organised by a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) “Murna Foundation” in collaboration with “Community Initiative to Promote Peace (CIPP) Mercy Corps” in Katsina on Wednesday.
He noted that the spate of kidnapping, cattle rustling, robbery, rape and other security challenges bedeviling the state would soon come to an end when all hands were on deck.
According to him, the efforts to attain peace in the state must not be left in the hands of the armed forces, the police and other security agencies alone.
“The issue of fighting insecurity is not the sole responsibility of the government alone; it should be a collective effort.
“We must therefore come together and address the problem by ourselves,” he added.
Earlier, the Executive Director, Murna Foundation, Hajiya Aisha Ahmed, said the aim of organising the meeting was to hear people’s views on how the insecurity situation in the state can be tackled.
“We want to be frank with ourselves, we want to call a spade a spade and fashion the way out.
“This is necessary because we are tired with the insecurity in our state,” she said.
Alhaji Sani Suleiman, Deputy Chief of Party, CIPP, Mercy Corps, said that the organisation, funded by USAID helps in peace building to prevent violent conflicts in most at-risk-communities in the states of the North-west, North-east and central regions.
Suleiman said that the organisation had partnerships in 40 countries around the world in finding solutions to security problems.
“We strengthen and build more sustainable Early Warning Early Response (EWER) mechanism.
“We increase collaboration among conflicting and vulnerable communities with government, civil societies, local leaders to address the root causes of conflicts among others,” he said.
The Wife of Katsina State Governor, Hajiya Hadiza Masari, in her remarks, said that the root cause of insecurity and violent acts could be traced to taking of dangerous drugs.
She advised parents to put watchful eyes on their children in their interest and good of the society.
Reports state that participants at the meeting cut across security agencies, traditional institutions, youth organisations, women, government officials among others in the state.