*Say: What is good for the goose must be good for the gander
The Niger Delta Youth Congress, NDYC, has charged the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency in Zamfara State saying the scale of violence, lawlessness, and breakdown of order in the state has reached a “tipping point.”
The group, in a statement by its National Coordinator, Mr Israel Uwejeyan said the declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State must be replicated in Zamfara State.
Uwejeyan said: “Entire communities are under siege, criminal gangs operate with impunity, and thousands of citizens live in daily fear for their lives, yet the federal government has remained disturbingly quiet.
“This call is not just a suggestion, it is a necessary and urgent demand. The same boldness with which the Federal Government moved swiftly to declare a state of emergency in Rivers State must be replicated in Zamfara.
Anything less would amount to a dangerous display of selective justice, and it will not be tolerated by the people of this country, especially those of us in the Niger Delta who have continually borne the brunt of overreach and federal aggression.
“In Rivers State, a state where political disagreement and internal party issues were grossly exaggerated into a crisis, the Federal Government was quick to suspend a democratically elected governor, his deputy, and the state assembly, replacing them with an unelected military administrator. That same level of urgency must now be applied to Zamfara, where the crisis is not political, it is existential. Over 50 people were recently kidnapped in Maradun Local Government Area, entire villages have been ransacked in Gobirawa Chali, and prominent citizens have openly declared a loss of confidence in the state’s leadership. Even a former Inspector General of Police, MD Abubakar, resigned from the state’s Security Trust Fund over the governor’s failure to address the worsening insecurity.
“Zamfara has become a theater of terror. Markets, schools, and religious centers have been shut down. The state government has failed to uphold its primary responsibility of protecting lives and property. Governor Dauda Lawal’s promises of ending insecurity in 100 days have not only fallen flat, they’ve been eclipsed by the deepening of bloodshed, kidnappings, and anarchy.
Recently, even the former Inspector General of Police, MD Abubakar, resigned from the state’s Security Trust Fund Board in protest of the governor’s ineffective handling of the security situation.
If the failure to ensure peace and governance was enough for a state of emergency in Rivers, then Zamfara’s situation justifies it tenfold.
“In addition to the spiraling insecurity, Zamfara State is also enmeshed in a deepening political crisis that mirrors, if not surpasses, the situation in Rivers State. The Zamfara State House of Assembly is now effectively split, with lawmakers at loggerheads, trading accusations, and operating in a climate of dysfunction and political hostility. This legislative paralysis has crippled governance and further weakened the state’s ability to respond to the security challenges facing its people. If a fractured assembly and political tension were grounds enough to justify a state of emergency in Rivers, then by the same logic and standard. Zamfara, gripped by both political and security collapse, deserves no less.
“NDYC reminds the Federal Government that the unity of Nigeria is built on equity, justice, and consistency in governance. We are watching. The people are watching. The world is watching. We cannot allow one region to be clamped down on for far less while another burns with the fire of banditry and is left unchecked.
This is a national security issue. This is a test of leadership. And this is a defining moment for the Tinubu administration to show that its interventions are based on principle, not politics.
“We, therefore, urge President Bola Tinubu and the National Security Council to declare a state of emergency in Zamfara State without further delay.
The same urgency, the same executive force, and the same justification used in Rivers State must be applied here.
Anything short of that will be seen as a clear message that some regions are above the law while others are governed by force.
“NDYC stands with all Nigerians affected by insecurity, whether in the North, South, East, or West. But we demand fairness. The Niger Delta cannot and will not accept selective federal intervention.”(Vanguard)
