By Ishola Adeleke, YeyeNews.com, October 14, 2021
As the economy of the of Nigeria’s northwest states continue to decline due to the prevalent insecurity, male residents of villages in Katsina State have cried out that their young girls no longer want to marry them but instead prefer to go with the bandits operating in the area.
A resident of Jibia told YeyeNews.com reporter that the young girls of the community no longer want to have anything to do with the boys there. “We have become too poor to take care of them. We can’t go to our farms. We can’t sell in the markets. Those of us who depends on the telecommunication services for our businesses have been rendered jobless by government. So we don’t have money to provide even the most basic things for the girls”, the resident laments.
YeyeNews.com gathered that the security measures introduced have caused even more harm to the residents than the malaise it was meant to remedy. “Only bandits now have money and provisions to woo the young girls. Some are even offering protection for the families of any girl who agrees to be with them. The situation is that bad”, Dogo concluded.
A young girl who eloped with a member one of the notorious bandit gangs operating in the area confirmed to YeyeNews.com that she felt it is better to stay in the forest with them than to die of starvation in her home. “I don’t regret befriending him” she said in Hausa referring to her bandit lover. “If I had not done it my family would have died of hunger. Now as I am here I can send food and money to my family. I am also sure of their safety in the village”, she said.
When YeyeNews.com asked one of the bandits whether the harsh measures the government instituted are affecting their operations, he confirmed that things are not as easy for them as before but that the difficulties affect the innocent villagers more. “I will be honest with you. It has not being easy. Its now more difficult to get food and fuel. But we have devised an effective method to get these things. One good thing is that women now offer themselves willingly to us. They want food and protection. So they come to us. The government thought they wanted to punish us but instead they succeeded in pushing these people to us. The residents here now depend on us for there survival”.
