President Muhammadu Buhari has promised that “hard times” awaits bandits whose disruptive activities have brought sorrow to Nigerians, kept many away from their means of livelihood, and heightened insecurity in parts of the country.
Okay.ng understands that the President disclosed this on Tuesday when he received a delegation of eminent and respected citizens of Niger state led by the governor Abubakar Sani Bello in Abuja.
According to Buhari, the activities of the had made people abandon their farms and homes.
He noted that if his government does not do anything it will be difficult for the economy to strive.
Buhari said, “I was taken aback by what is happening in the North West and other parts of the country. During our campaigns, we knew about the Boko Haram. What is coming now is surprising. It is not ethnicity or religion, rather it is one evil plan against the country.
“We have to be harder on them. One of the responsibilities of government is to provide security. If we don’t secure the country, we will not be able to manage the economy properly.”
said the onslaught of the bandits had also affected agricultural output in some parts of the country because many farmers had had to stay away for safety despite the favourable weather for farming.
President Buhari said the poverty level in the country would be significantly controlled by diversifying into agriculture instead of the heavy reliance on oil.
He noted that the discovery of oil and gas reserves in Chad Basin, Benue trough and Bida, and some parts of Bauchi and Gombe, would further bolster current efforts to strengthen the Nigerian economy.
He advised leaders in the Niger Delta to “counsel those who blow up pipelines, resulting in spillages that affect farming and farmlands’’, adding that the loss had always been collective and sometimes turning hard-working farmers to victims.
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