The Zamfara State Police Command recently announced the arrest of a 22-year-old member of the Jama’atu Izalatil Bid’ah Wa’iqamatus Sunnah (JIBWIS), Umar Ibrahim Gandi Maradun for chanting incitements to religious violence in Nigeria. In a viral video, the accused was seen leading the chant: “Give Us Rifles to Kill Arna (infidels/Christians)….” in places like Enugu and Jos.
According to the police, the suspect was located in Maradun. However, the police said the road from Gusau to Maradun was so bad that they had to contact JIBWIS in Maradun to bring the suspect to Gusau, in a motorcycle, popularly known as Okada.
The matter became more disturbing considering the fact that the three former governors of the state since the enthronement of democracy almost came from nearly the affected area.
For instance, Maradun is the home of the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, who is also the immediate past governor of Zamfara State.
The distance from Gusau to Maradun is officially between 91 to 100 kilometres. That should ordinarily take about 70 minutes on a modestly bad road. Now it takes over 180 minutes due mostly to the unmotorable nature of the road, and worsened by insecurity.
Zamfara is also the home of Senator Abdulaziz Yari, the Director-General of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council mandated to oversee the re-election campaign of President Bola Tinubu. He is from Talata Mafara, which is separated from Maradun by less than 25 kilometres.
Both communities are in the same Zamfara West Senatorial District currently represented in the Senate by Senate Yari, who was also governor of the state.
According to media reports, the bad road continues to the village of Senator Yari, through to Talata Mafara Central Primary School where he graduated.
Also from Zamfara West is Senator Sani Yerima, who comes from Anka, about 110 kilometres from Gusau. He was also Governor of the state for eight years until 2007 and senator thereafter for 12 years from 2007-2019. Reports claim there is also no road to his place.
The state also witnessed the worst form of insecurity when the three were governors.
These are the three men leading the charge to bring Renewed Hope to Nigerians.
Charity, they say, begins at home. To many, the trio failed the people of the state.