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Govt efforts at combating insecurity not good enough, says Magaji

By Obire Onakemu
21 August 2022   |   3:10 am
It is difficult to just make a blanket assessment. This is because everybody has their own parameters of assessing things. My own parameter of assessing success is the human development factor.

Magaji

Former Deputy Governor of Kaduna State, James Bawa Magaji, in this interview with OBIRE ONAKEMU, spoke on the security situation in Kaduna State, among other issues.

• Canvasses Devolution Of Powers, State Police As Solution

What is your assessment of governance in Kaduna State?
It is difficult to just make a blanket assessment. This is because everybody has their own parameters of assessing things. My own parameter of assessing success is the human development factor. As far as I am concerned, human beings are the greatest of all the creatures of God Almighty. So, my parameter for assessments starts from how much impact the government has made on human beings.

I rarely pay much attention to physical development because it is people that are alive that will build physically. You have to be alive, people have to be well fed, people have to be healthy to enjoy infrastructural development. It is very important too, but then the most critical is the human aspect.

In that case, how would assess human development under Governor Nasir el-Rufai?
The government has done very well in terms of infrastructural development. He has transformed Kaduna State. If only you knew Kaduna before now, you will see a very great change. And if it comes to employment, one cannot but fall back on his remark.

Are you part of those calling for the total overhaul of the present structure of governance in the country?
How do you overhaul the structure of governance? The structure is the three tiers of government at both the federal, and state level, which are the legislature, executive and judiciary. If there are proper checks and balances, there will be better governance and better service delivery. It is very wrong at our level of democracy for one particular party to have total control of everything to the extent that they control the legislature and the judiciary. With one party controlling the three tiers, as it is now, there will be no proper checks and balances.

So, if I were to suggest to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), I would say, let the 2023 elections start with the National Assembly coming first. This is to make the party that have the majority in the National Assembly to vote for a party other than theirs to emerge at the centre. Also, at the state level, the party with the majority at the State Assembly should allow a different party to control the legislature so there could be effective checks and balances.

How would you assess the political class in Nigeria?
A lot of them are more self-centred when holding power in trust for the people. Most of the time, we have found that the level of service to the people have been far below standard. Look at what is happening right now, the universities are shut as a result of lecturers being on strike. This is just as so many other untoward developments are happening in the society.

In Kaduna, there is the problem of insecurity – kidnapping and banditry. And the people who are directly in charge of these sectors do not show much concern. For instance, the Minister of Education, instead of resolving the crisis in his ministry, wanted to contest the presidency. The Minister in charge of transport, rather than be bothered that hundreds of people are still being held in captivity as a result of the kidnappers’ attack on the train, he was struggling to contest for a new offices.

Much as we have bad political leadership at almost all levels, we also have bad followers. We should not only hold our leaders accountable, the electorates should also be involved because they are the employers of those in power. This is so because their one vote for the person they voted for is an employment ticket. This gives them the power of an employer. And an employee cannot be higher than his/her employer. It is unfortunate that the reverse is the case here. Leadership is made worse at the federal and almost all the states when it is the same party that controls the executive, and the legislature. In such instances, there are no checks and balances.

The South-south clamours for true federalism. Is this the best solution to the myriad of challenges in the region?
There is nothing wrong with the current federal system and the constitution. Although, some people have said it is a military constitution and want it changed but the military only superintended the provisions of the constitution. The truth is that some Nigerians converged and wrote the constitutions. If you say it is a military constitution, it makes it look like it was debated and decided in the barrack, whereas it is not true.

However, we want devolution of powers in federating units, especially now that we have insecurity and security agencies seem overwhelmed. The military is overwhelmed because they have been dragged to render internal security services, which should not be their roles. The military is to protect the sovereignty of the country against external aggression. The fact that they have been drawn into the internal security management of the country because the police are either inadequate or overwhelmed by the total breakdown of the law and order do not mean they do not know their roles in the polity. This partly explains why I am also one of those strongly advocating for state police.

What is your take on the escalation of security situation as seen in the repeated attacks in Kaduna State?
The challenges are too much for the size of the police we have now. To make things better, there should be a centralised internal security mechanism whereby there could be state police. Every state should recruit their own people who are conversant with their localities. 

Is the Federal Government doing enough to end insecurity in the country?
Even if they are doing enough and putting in their best, so long as their best has not produced desired results or secured the country, that best is as good as not doing enough. 

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