…Says all hands must be on deck
A former lawmaker representing Oshodi/Isolo State Constituency 02 at the Lagos House of Assembly, Hon. Jude Chukwuemeka Omobowale Idimogu, has stated that President Bola Tinubu, cannot fight insecurity alone, adding that all hands must be on deck to win the war against banditry, kidnapping, insurgency and terrorism.
Idimogu who also decried the absence of patriotism in the lives of modern day Nigerians spoke in Lagos on Thursday when he addressed journalists.
He condemned the attitude of people blaming the president at the slightest opportunity, saying that security is everybody’s responsibility even though there were people trained and employed for the purpose of securing the nation.
He said, “A lot of Nigerians always accuse the president of not doing enough as regards insecurity in the country. Well I want to state that the issue of policing in Nigeria, security wise, is everybody’s concern, it is everybody’s duty.
“It is not just the president, it is not just even the armed forces, it is not just the police, it is everybody’s business, every Nigerian should be eager to defend their territory legally, I am not saying carry arms illegally.
“Yes there are people that have been trained and employed probably for that purpose, however insecurity in Nigeria has been there even before the president came in,” Idimogu said.
He said the president has done plausibly well in the fight against insecurity through provision of necessary equipment, and harped on the need for those appointed to secure the nation to also do their job since the president could not be everywhere.
“And I must tell you that the president has been doing his very best, just one person. He needs information from the citizens.
“For the president, he has been doing so much and is still doing, he has spent so much on ammunition, he has spent so much on equipping the security men, both the police, the army, just tell me, the armed forces, he has been up and doing, but as I said he is just one person. He gives directives, and when he gives directives, is he the only one that will always know whether that directive was carried out or not? What of his lieutenants; what of his ministers, what of his appointees, what are they doing, what of ordinary Nigerians, what are they doing?
The life of human being is nothing to Nigerians, it is terrible. I think Nigeria as a country has to have a rethink, why are we shedding blood?”
He decried the absence of patriotism and entrenchment of religion and tribalism for which Nigeria has become negatively prominent
“You see my challenge with my people in my country is lack of patriotism, we are so sentimental, we are so religiously inclined, talking about the Moslems, talking about the Christians, talk about the Fulanis, talk about the Hausas, talk about the Igbos, the Yorubas, the country is not one, and as long as it stands this way, there would be saboteurs, everywhere even in the hierarchy of the military, even in the hierarchy of the police, in every sector of this economy of Nigeria, there are sabotage going on, because I am not from the same place, because I am not practising the same religion with you, it is terrible.