The Coalition of Shiroro Associations (COSA) has faulted claims by Niger State Governor, Mohammed Umaru Bago, that the state is free from insecurity, hunger, and poverty.
In a statement signed by its Publicity Secretary, Abdulrahaman Babafada, on Wednesday, the group said it received the governor’s comments on ARISE TV “with profound dismay and utter disbelief,” describing them as “a grave misrepresentation of facts and a cruel dismissal of the agonizing realities faced daily by our people.”
“While we respect the office of the Governor, we are compelled by a sense of duty to our suffering communities to set the record straight,” the statement read.
COSA maintained that contrary to the governor’s assertion, Niger State remains the epicenter of a worsening insecurity. It said bandits have taken over towns like Allawa in Shiroro Local Government Area, where they “operate with impunity, killing and abducting at will.”
“The recent attacks across Shiroro, Munya, Agwara, and Kontagora LGAs are stark testaments to this reality,” the group added.
On the humanitarian situation, COSA said many displaced persons are starving in Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps and are awaiting relocation to a temporary site at Tsohon Gurusu, which is still under construction and “grossly inadequate.” It lamented that victims have lost their homes and means of livelihood, with little hope of return or restitution.
The group expressed disappointment that Governor Bago used a national platform “not to passionately articulate these plights and seek urgent federal intervention, but to deflect and campaign for the federal government.”
“Our people, who sacrificed immensely to vote him into office, feel utterly betrayed,” COSA stated. “We are left to wonder if this disconnect is a result of being out of touch or a conscious decision to play politics with the very lives he swore to protect.”
The coalition, therefore, urged the governor to align his public pronouncements with the realities on the ground, and to “redeploy the same energy used on television into practical, on-the-ground actions that will restore security, alleviate the humanitarian crisis, and bring solace to the traumatized citizens of Niger State.”
