By Mike Adeyemi
A University Don, Prof. Abdurauf Ambali as attributed the past of insecurity in Nigeria to deprivation of basic needs of life by the government.
Ambali stated this on Saturday while delivering lecture on the occasion of second national workers dialogue held at KWACCIMA hall, Ilorin the Kwara state capital.
According to him, ‘the problem of insecurity in Nigeria could be traceable to decades of neglect by the government on it’s citizenry.’
“The security of Nigeria as it is today can be traced back to different problems which I term as antecedent of insecurity in Nigeria.
“A country where you don’t have basic need of life like housing and good job. If all these are in place, I want to assure that the issue of insecurity will reduce. Unfortunately, Nigeria is not focusing on that. We are misplacing the priority.
“I want to actually suggest before government that all these antecedents are suppose to be focused upon. It is not something that is difficult to do,” Ambali said.
The prof added that the government at all level should prioritize its need so as get things done in the country.
“For instance, if we don’t have a good road network, you can use built operate and transfer (BoT). This is my humble suggestion to the president of Nigeria.
“We can’t be using our own money to construct road. Government has no business in business. The billionaire can be saddled to do that. That is how it is done in other climes.
“Security cannot be tackle in one way because what led to insecurity are many. So you need to consolidate and diversify. Government can look beyond our own effort here. We can get the assistance of other nation in fighting insecurity. There is nothing wrong in that.
“The best thing for government to do is to pay attention to all the roots causes of insecurity. If we can’t do it, we can sought the assistance of other countries, ” he added.
Earlier, the executive director of Nigerian workforce strategy and enlightenment centre,(NIWOSEC), Dr. Kayode Ehindero said there is no arguing the fact the security is growing worse day by day.
“The security agents are receiving the punch, as criminal element unleash terror on them. We are in a time that criminality is becoming our identity. This must not continue.
“Alarms have been raised from various quarters on tackling insecurity which includes, strengthening our weak security system, fighting corruption, provision of modern combat weaponry, adequate funding of police and other security agencies.
“The failure of the government to positively explore these visible options has worsened security challenges and invariably eroded the trust of citizens in government,” Ehindero said.
He advised that Nigerians should begin to treat each others as human beings and promote love.
“Our security men should also learn to bridge the trust deficit between them and the community to stop the usual transfer of aggression on ordinary Nigerian who are also facing what men of the force are facing. Our security men deserve a union and should be allowed to express themselves,” he stressed.
