Prominent groups and individuals have faulted President Muhammadu Buhari’s indictment of community leaders for rising insecurity in the country, saying the Federal Government should act fast to end killings, kidnappings and banditry.
The groups and the individuals, in separate interviews with The PUNCH, said the state and federal governments should face their responsibility of protecting lives and property of Nigerians, rather than blaming others.
Buhari, during a media chat on the NTA on Monday, had blamed the police and community leaders for rising insecurity in the country.
The President was asked by the interviewer what he thought about the problem of kidnapping for ransom which was prevalent in the country.
In his response, he said, “Those who are committing atrocities against communities, against the state and the country come from somewhere in Nigeria. Their neighbours know them; and we have politicians and rulers; the police are in the frontline. We have the police in every major town and city in this country and I said they were not given the uniform and rifles to impress anybody, but to secure the people. I think the community leadership and the police have failed this country.”
Asked what he would do about the problem of insecurity, Buhari said he would continue to do his best.
Blame yourself for insecurity, Middle Belt replies Buhari
But the President of the Middle Belt Forum, Dr Pogu Bitrus, described Buhari’s disposition to the country’s security challenge as unfortunate.
Pogu, who spoke with one of our correspondents in Jos, said it was wrong for the President to blame those who were not in power, while retaining those whom he appointed to be in charge of security but had failed to do their jobs.
Bitrus said, “The statement credited to him regarding the precarious security challenge we have in the country is unbecoming of a leader. The Inspector-General of Police and the other security chiefs are appointed by Mr President and for Mr President to turn round to start blaming other people who are not in government or position of authority or in control of security apparatus is very unfortunate.
“I think if there is anybody to blame, it should be the President himself for retaining those who have shown gross incompetence to tackle insecurity when he has the power to replace them with those ready to deliver results to the people.”
The Middle Belt president said Buhari should own up to his lapses and do the needful instead of looking for people to blame.
He said the primary responsibility of government “is the protection of lives and property of the citizens,” adding that that must not be compromised at all.
You can’t blame monarchs for insecurity, Emir tells President
On his part, the Emir of Anka, Alhaji Ahmed Attahiru, who is also the Chairman, Zamfara State Council of Chiefs, disagreed with the claims by the President that the failure of community leaders was responsible for growing insecurity in the country.
The emir said traditional rulers, especially the ones in Zamfara State, were doing their best to tackle the problem.
Attahiru said traditional rulers had played and were still playing positive roles in ensuring lasting peace in the country in spite of the fact that they were neither in control of the security personnel nor given weapons to fight the insurgents.
Attahiru stressed that since banditry started in Zamfara State, traditional rulers had not relented in their efforts in assisting security agents in the fight against the hoodlums.
He, however, lamented that the security arrangement put in place by both the state and the federal governments in tackling the problem was inadequate.
According to the emir, the number of security personnel deployed in Zamfara to fight the bandits was grossly inadequate.
Attahiru stated, “We, the traditional rulers, are mostly affected by the insecurity problems because it is our people and us that are the target of the bandits. Our subjects are being killed on a daily basis and we are not allowed to carry arms and defend ourselves. So, how can we be blamed for security failure?”
The emir, however, agreed that traditional rulers by virtue of their positions in society knew some of the deviants committing these atrocities.
But what can we do other than to report criminals to security agents; since we are not constitutionally allowed to arrest and punish offenders?,” he asked.
He added, “We have been telling the government and the security agents about some criminals within our domain. We even showed them the bandits’ hideouts but nobody could go there and fight them.
“So, what can we do? Are we expected to carry arms and pursue them so that we will not be blamed for security failure?
“There are a lot of bandits, who were apprehended by my subjects and handed over to the police, but you wake up the following morning to see that they have been released and walking the streets (with their) shoulders high.”
The emir, therefore, called on both the state and the federal governments to do more to tackle the issue of insecurity to complement what the traditional institution was doing.
The emir said, “Zamfara State is almost controlled by these bandits because the security personnel sent to end the menace could not tackle the problem. Many of our towns and villages have been deserted, and unless something is done, there would be no farming in this state.”
Stop passing the buck, Ohanaeze advises President
Also, the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, berated the President for blaming rising insecurity in the country on community leaders and the police.
Ohanaeze said all issues, including security, “should end on Buhari’s table because he is the chief security officer of the country.”
Ohanaeze’s Deputy Publicity Secretary, Chief Chuks Ibegbu, who spoke to The PUNCH, said although the police and other security agents were not doing enough, the President should be blamed for inept leadership.
Chuks also blamed some community leaders whom he said had also not done enough to check the menace of insecurity in the country.
He stated, “The police are busy taking bribes and protecting big men while some community leaders are now politicians jettisoning their duties to their people. Mr President may be right but he should not pass the buck to anybody.”
Stop the blame game, adopt state police, Afenifere tells Buhari
Also, the Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere, said Buhari should take responsibility for the rising insecurity in the country and should not blame traditional or community leaders who had only advisory roles.
The Afenifere’s Publicity Secretary, Mr Yinka Odumakin, said, “It is the usual blame game that the government is known for. What we have in Nigeria today is the failure of government. The government has failed. The traditional or community leaders the President talked about play merely advisory roles. You recall that the Governor of Kano State (Abdullahi Ganduje) said the Emir of Kano ought to report to a local government chairman. How can anyone say that traditional rulers are responsible for security in their areas?
“When the President also started to blame the police, that institution is under the government. We have said many times that the federal police alone cannot manage the security situation in Nigeria. The police should be decentralised. You cannot have three tiers of government but have one tier of police.
“The whole idea of trying to police Nigeria from Abuja is not appropriate. The President should take responsibility. He is trying to sustain what cannot work. He should not shift blames on anyone for taking Nigeria to the abyss. The traditional rulers have no more roles than advisory.”
Credit: The Punch
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