First Lady of Bauchi State, Aisha Mohammed, weekend, entreated the Federal Government to address the spate of terrorism and poverty, by giving due attention to their root causes.
She, however, said part of the reasons for the festering insecurity and poverty in the country were lack of education, communication gap between the government and the people, injustice among ethnic and religious followers in the country.
She implored the government to invest heavily in education and to ensure that victims of terrorism get justice, in order to regain the confidence of the masses.
The first lady spoke at the Women for Peace, Culture and Arts Exhibition, which also witnessed the official launch of the Gender Strategy Advancement International, GSAI, Baseline Report, in Abuja.
According to her: “I will, at this juncture, draw the attention of all the relevant stakeholders to give more attention to root causes of such vices, with a view to finding lasting solutions to the insecurity bedevilling most of our communities.
“It is quite unfortunate that most of the part of the country over the years, are facing security challenges, including terrorism, banditry, pipeline vandalism among other violence and crimes.
“The negative development has continued to create havoc to the lives of people, especially women who are most vulnerable.
“Investigations reveal how some factors contribute to escalation of crimes such as terrorism, rape, banditry and violence.
“These include lack of education among youths, communication gap between the government and the governed, lack of awareness, injustice among ethnic and religious followers in the country.
“Others are lack of financial contribution to the victims and emotional support, delay of justice,” she added.
Meanwhile, Executive Director, GSAI, Adaora Onyechere, pointed out the Federal Government failed to integrate women in counter-insurgency operations, adding that women were reputed enablers of insurgents’ activities.
She said: “The National Action Plan (NAP), aimed at fulfilling the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325, has not been reflected in the ongoing armed conflict between Nigeria and Boko Haram insurgents.
“Although the country has developed a National Action Plan to fulfil the UN Security Council Resolution 1325, this is not reflected in the ongoing armed conflict between the Nigerian state and Boko Haram.
“For example, while women and children are most affected by the insurgency, there are few women involved in COIN operations, with government forces estimated to be 98 percent male,” she argued.