Kaduna governor, Nasir El-Rufai, says the perception of the state as very insecure is hurting investor confidence and affecting opportunities to grow economically.
The state is one of the worst affected by banditry and bloodshed in the northern region with 1,482 people killed and 3,695 kidnapped between January 2020 and June 2021 according to the government's own record.
While speaking in an interview on Channels TV on Thursday, September 23, 2021, El-Rufai said rural banditry has been a challenging roadblock to the state's economic goals.
He said it has given investors something to be scared of, but that it's not as bad as reported.
"You're usually in Kaduna and you spend the night and you know that it is not as unsafe as the media puts out.
"One of the basic problems we face is people perceiving Kaduna to be insecure," he said.
With much of the state's economic goals dependent on agriculture, El-Rufai said the government has to spend heavily to secure the rural and semi-urban areas most affected by the wave of violence.
He further lamented that investing a lot into security is diverting from other developmental projects that can grow the state's fiscal profile.
Despite the challenges, the governor said Kaduna remains ambitious to develop economically and improve the lives of its people.
