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From Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan
Kano State governor, Alhaji Abdullahi Ganduje, has said good governance is the panacea for the security challenge besetting the progress of Nigeria to the extent that the situation has shown that the country is more at risk from inside than from outside or any foreign aggressor.
He mentioned the challenges to include terrorism, banditry, kidnappings, drug trafficking, cybercrimes, robberies, weapons proliferation, human trafficking, communal clashes and ethnic nationalisms, militancy, manipulations of social media and hate speeches, economic and financial crimes, subversive activities, herdsmen/ farmers clashes, and youth unemployment, piracy.
He made the disclosure on Friday when he delivered the 2022 Alumni Lecture, entitled: ‘Challenges of Insecurity and Nation Building,’ of the University of Ibadan Alumni Association, held at the Dame Edith Okowa Auditorium, Dr Michael Omolayole Alumni Complex, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Oyo State.
Ganduje stated that “the war against insecurity would be won only by raising governance standards, by cultivating the culture of good governance, where the government is responsible and accountable to the people. Security engagement cannot be separated from good governance.”
He described leadership as a critical factor in nation-building, saying it has to do with personal qualities of integrity, honesty, commitment, and competence of individual leaders at the top and the collective qualities of common vision, focus, and desire for development of the elite as a whole.
“That is why we must have a leadership that is committed to the rule of law and has a demonstrable sense of fair play and democratic tolerance; a leadership with ability and integrity,” he said.
Ganduje stated further that security is presently a major challenge in Nigeria, as more people are getting into crimes in a more ruthless, desperate and sophisticated manner with many cases of crimes reported on daily basis.
He mentioned insurgency as one of the major challenges, particularly in the North East, by terrorists or Boko Haram. He said it involves bombing, suicide bomb attacks, sporadic shooting of unarmed and innocent citizens, burning of police stations, banks, markets, churches, motor parks, correctional centres and so on.
“It is worth noting, however, that the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari overwhelmingly reduced the insurgents to attacking soft targets. While the Boko Haram fighters have since retreated to the Sambisa Forest, though, where the Nigerian military has pursued it, freeing hundreds of captives and taking down most of the group’s leadership, the sect remains a serious security challenge, particularly in Borno state.”
Ganduje noted that the incessant incidences of clashes between farmers and herders have also been one of the many security challenges facing the country in view of the scary, frightening, disgusting, disheartening and damning problems it pose to the parties involved and the generality of Nigerians.
“The movement of Fulani nomads from the North to the southern part of the country and from other West African countries into Nigeria has, over the years been posing many challenges.
“Disagreements over the use of land and water, as well as grazing routes, have been worsened by climate change and the spread of the Sahara Desert, as herders move further south looking for pasture. Thousands have been killed in clashes over limited resources,” he said.
