Prominent Nigerians condemn worsening insecurity, seek emergency on security

Some elder statesmen have condemned rising insecurity in the country, saying the situation could overwhelm the Federal Government, unless urgent steps were taken to nip the menace in the bud.

They charged President Muhammadu Buhari to declare a state of emergency on security in a bid to end the violence that is fast turning the country into what many consider a failing entity.

Besides, the eminent Nigerians, who backed Ohaneze Ndigbo’s position on review of appointment of service chiefs to reflect federal character principle, urged President Buhari to hearken to the call by inlcluding Ndigbo in the nation’s security arrangement for equity and fairness.

Speaking under the auspices of Conference of Nigeria Elders for Peace and National Unity (CNEPNU), they could no longer keep silent when the country was at the brink of collapse, hence the need for good-spirited Nigerians to intervene and salvage the deteriorating security situation.

In a statement issued yesterday in Abuja by Zana Goni (Northeast Elders for Peace and Development), Prof. Chika Madumere (Coalition of South East Professionals Network) and Prof. Ganiyu Jakande, they said the current tension in the country could only be likened to the 1967-1970 scenario.

“The continued exclusion of the Igbo, being the third largest ethnic group in the country is against the spirit of not only the founding fathers of the country, but also the writers of Nigeria’s constitution who had made provision for the federal character principle in appointments,” the statement reads.

Noting that the inclusion of Ndigbo in federal appointments was not negotiable considering that the constitution was explicit on the issue, they said the skewed appointments, especially in the security sector in favour of some ethnic groups without the Igbo was legally and morally wrong.

The groups insisted that there was the need for President Buhari to address the nation, stressing that addressing the country had become more urgent and compelling, considering the level of apprehension due to increasing crime and criminality across the country.

Suspecting some conspiracy on the security issue on the part of the Federal Government, the patriots wondered why Islamic cleric, Sheikh Abubakar Gumi, who is not a government official, always had access to bandits operating in the forests.

They, therefore, charged the military and security agencies to show more commitment in addressing the security challenges confronting the country, especially insurgency, armed banditry, cattle rustling, kidnap-for-ransom and drug addiction.

“When people fail to plant trees to stop the wind, they inadvertently prepare the ground for the whirlwind, which has more devastating effects than the former,” the statement added.

They also drew attention to the socio-economic effects of insecurity, occasioned by loss of businesses, farms and means of livelihoods, among others.

“We condemn the worsening state of insecurity in our country, which has not only led to needless loss of lives and property, but also threatened Nigeria’s fragile and delicate balance.

“A situation where a proscribed group such as the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) will be running the Eastern Security Network (ESN), which by is illegal, does not add up, hence the need for Southeast governors to support to the military, to arrest and prosecute promoters of the proscribed group,” they said in the statement.