Governor Umar Namadi of Jigawa State has disagreed with the idea that Nigerians should start defending themselves due to rising insecurity. He said the country has not reached that stage yet, and allowing people to take up arms could lead to chaos.

He shared this view during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily. His comments were in response to a suggestion by former Defence Minister, Lt. Gen. Theophilus Danjuma (retd.), who said people in states like Benue and Plateau should defend themselves from bandits since the government is failing to protect them.

Governor Namadi said he respects Danjuma’s security experience, but believes that allowing people to fight back could create serious problems. He said the government is already working hard to solve the insecurity problem.

Namadi also talked about how he handled conflicts between farmers and herders in Jigawa. Instead of using violence, he encouraged dialogue. He brought community leaders and other important people together to help solve the problem peacefully.

He explained that a special committee was set up to bring both sides together. Now, farmers and herders are living in peace and working together. He believes this shows that talking things out works better than fighting.

Governor Namadi repeated that Nigeria is not yet at the point where self-defense should be allowed. He said both the federal and state governments are still doing their best to fix the security issues.