Featured, Security
By Anayo Ezugwu
FORMER President Olusegun Obasanjo has raised alarm that coronavirus, COVID-19, is causing a great threat to the security of lives and property in the country. He expressed worries over the rising security challenges across the country in recent times.
Speaking at the Sobo Sowemimo Annual Lecture, organized by the Abeokuta Club, Obasanjo said rising insecurity showed that the federal government was overwhelmed, powerless and ineffective in dealing with the situation. He noted that insecurity is being amplified by brazen and outrageous criminality and acts of lawlessness.
According to him, the lukewarm attitude and unhelpful acts of the government had made some Governors devise means of enhancing security within their states and their geopolitical zones to safeguard their citizens from incessant attacks and killings by Fulani herdsmen, kidnappers, and rapists.
“The worsening security situation in the country has prompted some Northern elders like Akeem Baba Ahmed, Salihu Garba, and Prof. Usman Yusuf, to declare the Federal government as a failure. This has also led to people from other regions in the country to start calling for the correction of the ‘Mistake of 1914′ while others are talking of proclamation for the ‘Sovereignties and Self-determination of Indigenous Peoples of Nigeria,” he said.
According to Obasanjo, all ethnic groups which formed the constituents of Nigeria are all indigenous to Nigeria. He made reference to the United Nations Declaration of 2007 which states that Indigenous Peoples may apply in countries like the United States of America, New Zealand, Australia, and similar countries where there are distinctions between indigenous and settler peoples, but does not really apply to Nigeria.
The former president observed that Nigeria’s problem emanated mainly from the government’s orientation, ethnoreligious tendencies, bigotry, bad policies, incompetence, poor performance, and non-delivery of services to the people. He noted that the Nigerian Constitution is being breached with impunity all the time and Abuja appeared overwhelmed by the issue of security, with agitations for reform of the basic structure of Nigeria’s federating units.
“Nigeria, as a regional leader, must play an active role in the international arena, contribute efficiently to global decision-making processes, and have an adequate share in the worldwide division of labour and global resources. People in leadership positions in Nigeria must change their mindsets, attitude, and orientation and embrace inclusiveness, equal opportunities, equity, justice, and love for the citizens.
“People who cannot feel comfortable in the company of other ethnic or religious groups, have no business in aspiring to leadership of a multi-ethnic and multi-religious nation like Nigeria. They will do great harm to the entity and, in fact, become security risks. Leaders of thoughts in politics, private sector, religion, traditional institutions, and civil society have persistently cried out against unending insecurity, which has put the nation’s economy at great risk.
“No sane people can sit and watch their people being killed, women and young girls raped, sons abducted by bandits, kidnappers or insurgent group, whose motivations have been built on demonic ideology and easy access to firearms. It was evident that the insecurity within the nation was aggravated by the blood-letting criminality of Boko Haram, Fulani herdsmen, terrorists, armed robbers, militants, abductors, and human trafficking. There is no ethnic group or geopolitical zone and not even the Fulanis in Nigeria are collectively satisfied with the present situation in spite of President Buhari being a Fulani man,” he said.
– Jul. 27, 2020 @ 14:55 GMT |
Tags: COVID-19: Obasanjo raises alarm over rising insecurity
